Cape Beginings
by NTwebguy
Summary: Clark meets a stranger in black and is offered a new adventure. The story begins when Clark has just graduated high school and will move towards AU. This is my first Fanfiction story please review. Finished.
1. Just a Summer's Evening

I do not own the characters in the story, they are all property of WB.   
This is my first Fan story. Please review.

* * *

It had just become dark outside when the rustling began. Lex Luthor looked out the window of his study and into the gathering darkness, wondering what could have caused the noise. He notices that a breeze has picked up and the trees and bushes are swaying in the wind. Somewhat satisfied, he moves away from the window and begins to pour himself a drink. Suddenly he feels the point of a sword in his back and the sound of a low voice reaches his ears.

"Don't turn around." Not one to argue with a sharp sword Lex stands very still.

"What do you want?" Lex asks, trying to keep his voice firm.

The low voice responds. "Be quiet and move slowly towards the back door."

Lex starts to move but fortunately for him, his would be abductor is suddenly attacked and thrown against the wall. Lex is thrown forward and hits his head on a bookcase. Dazed he looks around and sees his attacker and savior as they crash into the coffee table. His attacker is dressed in all back and had a huge katana which he no longer seems to have. The other man was also dressed in black with a long back cape.

Before Lex could get up to get a better look at the two he sees a well known face come through the study doors, dressed in a plaid shirt and jeans. Lex shouts at Clark to run and call the police. Both of the struggling men momentarily pause and when they realize that someone new has entered the room. The attacker realizing that his adversary is distracted quickly drops a smoke bomb. The bomb floods the room with smoke and Lex begins to choke. Clark moves to the windows and begins to open them. As the smoke clears, Lex sees that both of the men in black have disappeared. All that remains is the katana on the floor and the damage in the room to show that the incident actually happened.

* * *

The police show up and begin to search the grounds and the study for evidence. The sheriff takes the statements from Lex and Clark.

"He looked kind of like a…Ninja." Lex states with a smirk on his face.

The sheriff rolls her eyes.

"Really, he did. He was dressed in black and seemed to know martial arts." Lex tries again.

Turning to Clark as he walked up, "At least this time Kent, you had nothing to do with this. It's nice to have a case where you aren't involved and there are no monsters or green rocks." The sheriff says sarcastically. "Now about the other man, he was wearing a cape?"

Clark thinks for a moment. "I never saw the front of him, he was dressed in black. He had a long cape that went to the floor and he was wearing a mask that covered most of his head."

"Well Mr. Luthor if you or Mr. Kent think of anything else please give our office a call, you know the number. We'll try to finish up here as soon as possible. I will also leave a squad car out front for the remainder of the night, although I don't think this guy will be stupid enough to come back."


	2. Surprises

A/N: Thanks Farmqt for pointing out my spelling mistake. I am really bad at spelling, so please feel free to tell me what you see. Don't worry I have another chapter or 2 coming up shortly.

* * *

The next day, Chloe finds Clark in the Torch staring at one of the computer screens. She glances over to see what he's reading.

"Chloe!" Clark jumps a little, shocked that he didn't hear her coming. "What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing. Didn't you just graduate?"

"Yeah…"

"I came by to start cleaning my stuff out…Interested in Ninjas?" Chloe asks as she peaks at his screen.

"After last night I was curious who they are. Aside from the silly fan websites I haven't found any real information on them."

Chloe leans over his shoulder. "Well they are said to be a secretive bunch, at least according to the movies."

"Ninjas huh?" Lois joins the conversation.

Both Chloe and Clark turn, "Hey Lois, get kicked out of school again?"

Chloe hits Clark for his comment.

"No, I just finished dropping of the pies Clark's mom made to the Talon, a job I think you were going to take care of Clark. Being near by, I figured you were down here and thought I would see what was going on after what I heard what happened last night" Lois sits down next to Clark and looks at his research.

"I've heard about these guys when I took Jujitsu at MetU, mostly rumors. It's said that they are highly trained individuals who can sneak into anywhere, kill with a single stroke and leave just as silently."

"Really" Chloe's eyes light up. Lois can see that she's ready to dive into an all night research session.

"But if Chloe is going to go into research mode, I think we should head to the Talon for coffee, could be a long night."

The trio exits the school and pile into Lois' SUV and head for their favorite java spot.

Pulling up they see Lex's BMW M5 out front, Chloe grabs her notepad for a possible interview. After ordering their drinks they move over to the table that Lex and another man were sharing.

Lex looks up when he notices them approaching, "Hey guys, I'd like you to meet a friend of mine from college, Bruce Wayne"

Chloe's eyes nearly popped out of her head and totally forgot about any possible interview with Lex, "THE BRUCE WAYNE?"

Everyone started laughing at her shocked face. "You never told us you went to school with Bruce Wayne." Clark said as he shook Bruce's hand.

"Well we only really went to a few classes together. And most of the time he wasn't there, how he ever got good grades I'll never know." Lex replied.

"I bribed them." Bruce said and waiting a few beats. "I'm kidding you guys, I'm pretty good with numbers and I have a sense for business so I made it through ok."

"A good business sense? Your company is as bigger than mine, you have a gift, not a sense" Lex smirked.

Bruce just laughed and turned to Clark.

"So Clark, Lex has told me a lot about you. Some of the stories are unbelievable, you seem to always be in the right place at the right time."

"Just lucky I guess, Mr. Wayne." Clark said blushing a little.

"Please, any friend of Lex should call me Bruce. And speaking of luck, I'm glad you showed up, I happened to have an internship open up that I think you would be a good fit for. It would be assisting our research department head, mainly doing a lot of…well, research."

"Wow! That would be amazing. Thanks Mr., um , Bruce"

"Good we can finish the details later, here is my card and this is my secretary's number. She is much better with details than I am. If you need anything she'll help you out."

"Well its getting late and I think we are finished here, Lex and I have been talking over a joint business deal all day, I think we will call it a night." The two said their goodbyes and headed for the door.

As Clark watched them make their way out the front door, movement across the street catches his eye. Using his X-Ray vision he sees, in the growing dusk, a hand holding what might be a detonator. Quickly getting up and excusing himself to the bathroom, he ducks out the back door and shifts to super-speed. The rest of the world slows to a crawl as he runs towards the men exiting the building and pulling them backwards out of danger just as Lex's M5 blows into small little pieces. As time speeds back up Clark checks the two men who appear to be fine aside from a few slight glass cuts, he moves back over to Chloe and Lois and thankfully they had only been blown backwards and were only stunned.

Since everyone seemed ok, Clark ran back towards the alley that he had seen the man with the detonator move towards. Frustratingly since people were watching he couldn't use his external powers. But he did switch on his X-Ray vision again to see a man on the roof of the building next to him. Clark ran up the fire escape and jumped up on the roof. There was the ninja that attacked Lex the previous night.

"Having a bad stroke of luck?" Clark teased the man.

"Yes and it seems to be because of you, I will remedy that quickly" The low voice said.

The ninja pulled 3 metalic stars that glinted in the moonlight and would have most certainly found themselves embedded in Clark had he not been who he was. Instead they were now embedded in the wall of a neighboring building.

"You are fast, boy" Pulling a new katana from behind his back and quickly moved towards Clark. Clark used his heat vision on some of the pipes that were under the ninja's feet and steam erupted into the man's face. The ninja screams and Clark reaches for the man and throws him across the roof.

Clark walks over to make sure the ninja is out.

"Nice moves" Clark spins to see a man dressed in black with a long cape that covered all his body and a cowl covering his head. The man looked almost evil in the night.

"Who are you?" Clark wanted to add '_and how in the world did you sneak up on me'_

The man ignored his question and moved to tie up the ninja. "This is Juntas; he is a member of the League of Assassins. Not an easy man to take down. I've been following his movements for sometime now. I caught word on the streets of a hit on the Luthors so I've been keeping an eye on Lex"

Draging the man to the edge of the building he tied a rope to his legs and then to the building and threw the man off the side. Leaving him for the cops to pick up. Clark finally saw the yellow utility belt and a black bat on the man's chest.

"BATMAN" Clark realizes. The man turns back to him, his presence is overwhelming "Yes and I have a few questions for you, Kent. You are not what you appear, moving faster than I can see and I see a lot. Things just seem to happen around you like those pipes bursting. Care to explain?"

Clark fumbles and can't come up with a decent lie.

"Obviously you are more than just lucky. Come." It wasn't a request.


	3. Choices

Again I don't own any of these charaters, they are WB's.

A/N: I'm picturing the Batmobile as an updated version of the one used in the first Batman film. I've always liked that version of the car, I thought it just needed to be updated to today's standards.

Enjoy

* * *

Batman walks to the other side of the building, the same side that Clark had run up the fire escape from the alley and just...jumps off. Totally shocked, Clark runs to the edge of the building. Looking down he sees the Batman's cape spread like a parachute and then Batman lands safely in a black car. Clark now very interested jumps down next to the car, his feet hit the pavement cracking it a little. 

Batman smirks ever so slightly when he sees the cracked street under Clark's feet.

Clark looks the car over. It is a sleek, black, most certainly a one of a kind vehicle. Fins are mounted on the back next to a huge opening in the rear of the car. It is very low to the ground, like a formula 1 racer. _Wonder how he makes it over speed bumps?_

Batman presses a few buttons and the car comes to life, raising itself a few more inches off the ground. _Well there you go Kent, is there anything this guy hasn't thought of?_ Several screens light up. One showed the status of the car with readouts of the many features of the car. Another showed a satellite view of Smallville and the last showing police data, announcing that the cops were almost onsite.

"Time to go." Clark hesitates and then finally climbs in. The roof slams shut and batman pulls back on what looks like an airplane throttle. Clark is pushed back in his seat as the car roars out of the alleyway. Clark sees Lois, Chloe and Lex stare in awe as they literally fly past.

They headed down the street and quickly find themselves out of town.

"Where are we going?" Clark asks timidly

"Your home" The short reply came.

"You know where I live?"

"I know a lot about you, Lex wasn't the only one I was watching."

Clark shivered at the thought of someone else knowing his secret. Seems like the harder he tried to keep it a secret, the more bad things happen and the more people found out about his powers. He had a hunch that Chloe knew about his powers but just hadn't said anything yet.

Before he could follow his thoughts any further he found that they were pulling up to his parent's farm. Batman parked next to the barn somewhat out of the way. Jonathan and Martha came running out of the house.

"Clark…" Martha started before her jaw dropped at the sight of the Batman.

"Mom, Dad…This is Batman."

"I'm sure there is a logical explanation for this right Clark?" His dad asked, implying _I sure hope you have a VERY GOOD explanation for this._

"I ran after a guy that had attacked Lex and I used my powers to capture him. Batman saw it all."

"Clark, you know better than that…" before Martha could continue, Batman finally spoke.

"Mr. and Mrs. Kent…"

"Please call us Jonathan and Martha."

Batman was a little shocked at someone actually interrupting him when he talked.

"Jonathan and Martha, do not be mad at Clark. He took out the assassin that was after Luthor without anyone being hurt. I think he should be commended. As for my seeing him use his powers, I think I know how to keep a secret." He said with a slight grin.

Turning back to his car, he pushed a concealed button on his yellow utility belt and the car vanished. Almost totally invisible except for a leaf that had fallen on the hood which batman swept away. Turning towards the house

"Let's move inside." Again not a request.

Martha went into the kitchen to make some tea for everyone. After starting the water boiling she brought in some cups and sugar. Seeing the Dark Knight sitting at her kitchen table would have made her laugh if she wasn't worried about what had already happened earlier that night. What did this mysterious man want with Clark? Why won't people just leave her Clark alone?

As in answer to her questions, Batman broke the silence.

"I know you are wondering why I'm here. I'm here because I see great potential for your son. He has great gifts and a willingness to help that is rare these days. I want to help. I want to train him."

Jonathan still looking shell shocked replied, "No disrespect…Batman...but how can we know that we can trust you with our son? The past few years have been hard because it seems like everyone is trying to get a piece of him. Some trying to expose him to the world, his father trying to take him over and make him ruler of the world and others trying to cut him up so they can see what he's made of. How are you different?"

"I don't…cause good people pain. I cause pain to those who would hurt good people."

"I think what my husband is trying to get across is, even though you know that Clark is special. What assurance can you give us that your intentions are for his best interests?"

Batman ponders that for a moment. You can almost see for a brief second, emotion in his lips as he puts together his thoughts.

"You can trust me because I have made a vow to help those who can't help themselves. To make sure that no one ever goes through the pain I have gone through." Batman stands and turns his back on the family at the table. "My parents were taken from me when I was young. More than taken, they were gunned down in the street in front of my eyes." Batman removes his cowl and turns back to the table, "I made a vow to them that no child would have to live through the pain I have been through. Clark will come to no harm by my hand. I swear."

"Bruce?" Clark says shocked.

"Bruce Wayne?" His parents catching on.

"Yes. Now you can trust me as I have to trust you. Here is the deal, I have already offered Clark an internship with my company. Clark if you decide that you want to take my offer, you will come stay with me and work with me in Gotham. If not, I have an office in Metropolis that you can work with and I have some connections at Met U that will get you in the door. The choice is yours." Reaching into his utility belt he pulls out an earpiece. "This is a secure communicator, it only connects to me. I leave tomorrow for Gotham, let me know your decision."

With that he pulled his cowl back on his head and was out the door before anyone could respond. They heard the car start and pull away from the house and he was gone.

The Kents were still talking when Lois came home.

"Family meeting at the Kents tonight huh?"

"Lois…we were just discussing Clark's plans for the summer and for school."

"I've decided to go to Gotham." His parents looked at him funny, but said nothing.

"Going to take Wayne up on that internship huh?"

"It's too good of an offer to pass up." Clark replied as he got up and started out the door towards the barn. Lois followed him.

"And just when we were starting to get along here."

"We were?" Clark turned back to her. _Man she looks good in the moonlight…how can someone drive you crazy and look good at the same time._

"Sure we were Smallville. And fortunately for you, knowing that you'll miss me and all, I had already told my sister Lucy that I would visit her this summer. She lives in Gotham and is going to GU. So we'll only be apart for a few weeks and I'll probably see you in late June."

Lois turns to walk back into the house

_That woman drives me crazy!_ Out loud he called back to her, "Great Lois…I ah…need to pack. So I...ahh...will see you then."

_Great comeback Kent!_


	4. Change of Suroundings

A/N: I'm assuming that Lex changed the name of LuthorCorp to LexCorp after he gained control of the company. I couldn't remember if this had been done in the show yet.

DDS: Yeah I agree the story has been a little rushed so far. I got excited and wanted to get into this part of the story. I had trouble trying to figure out how to get Clark out of Smallville. The next few chapters should slow down a little.

* * *

Clark is up early the next morning, doing his chores at super-speed before Lois gets up. 

_Going to be nice to not have to get up so early._ He thought to himself.

The morning passed quickly and after lunch he picked up the communicator.

" Kent." A low voice came over the line.

"Batman, I've decided to come to Gotham."

"Good. My Limo should be arriving at your farm in twenty minutes. Can you be ready?"

"Twenty minutes…uh….sure, I'll be ready." Clark started to ask another question but realized the line had already been closed.

_Loves to talk huh, this could be an interesting summer._

_

* * *

_

Twenty minutes was plenty of time to pack. In fact packing took 2 minutes. The rest of the twenty was spent saying goodbye to his parents. _Why is it that they save their longest speeches for when you are leaving?_

"…and Clark most of all we love you and you be careful." His mom finished saying as the limo driver put his bags in the car.

"Yes mom, goodbye mom. See you later dad." And he quickly slipped into the car before his parents could add anything else.

The limo headed towards the Smallville Airport, it was an average size airport for a small town. The Luthors had put some money into it, adding several private hangers and a helicopter pad.

The limo pulled into one of the private hangers with the LexCorp logo on it and pulled up to a jet with the Wayne Enterprises logo on it. A man dressed in a tux opened his door and greeted him.

"Welcome Mr. Kent, I am Alfred"

"Thanks Alfred, um...where's Bruce?"

"Mr. Wayne will be along shortly. He is just putting away his toys." Alfred said with a twinge of his British sarcasm.

Alfred pulled Clarks bags from the car and the limo left the hanger with the huge hanger doors closing behind it.

It was then that Clark heard the quiet crunching of tires and the soft hum of an electic motor coming from the back of the hanger. He looked but he saw nothing, just before he switched on his X-Ray vision, he saw the back of the plane open and he saw the Batmobile de-cloak and pull into the waiting plane. _Toys is right! Alfred wasn't kidding._

Bruce hopped out of the Batmobile and closed up the plane.

" Clark good to see you" Bruce walked up and shook Clark's hand. _It's amazing the difference between Batman and Bruce. They really could be two different people._

"The young sir's things are stowed on the plane. The pilots have just shown up outside and are ready to begin their pre-flight inspection."

"Let them know we are ready to go, thanks Alfred." Bruce turned and boarded the plane, followed by Clark.

Clark looked around the plane, it was very plush. All the seats were leather. There was a nice mini-bar stocked with food and drink. There were several flatpanel TV's and a few laptops.

Bruce picked up one of the laptops and sat down in one of the seats, strapping himself in. Clark sat down in the seat next to him. Bruce was connecting to his network and begain to look over the events going on in Gotham.

Clark looked at Bruce and could see his face change, it hardened, all the muscles tensed up. He had become Batman without the mask. When he spoke his voice was lowered and gravely.

"This laptop is linked to the one I have in Gotham. I have various flags set that will push news stories and police radio transcripts to me so that I can analyze them. This is one of the many tools I will teach you about when we begin your training."

Clark could feel the plane power up and start to move out of the hanger. Alfred had pulled some bottled water from the mini-bar and sat in the a seat facing them.

Bruce continued, a little louder now that they didn't have to worry about the pilots hearing. "Now that we are getting underway we can talk. This plane was designed by the military for Generals to move quickly around during a battle. It has stealth technology, a storage area for a vehicle and most importantly in the cabin here we can talk without being heard. It one of the many wepons I have modified for the purposes of Batman."

The plane taxis and begins its take off. Bruce closed the laptop and turned to Clark.

"I am ready to hear your story. Tell us everything you know about yourself"

The whole story, Clark was still figuring that out. There were so many pieces of the puzzle that made up his life. Where to begin…

"Why don't you start with where you are from."

* * *

Clark finished his story as they were beginning their decent into Gotham. It had gone by quickly. Alfred and Bruce said almost nothing during his life's story and he was in serious need of another bottle of water for his dry throat. The other two men didn't seem to mind the silence that came over the cabin. They had a lot to digest; he was from another planet, an alien. Yep, lots to digest. 

The plane pulled into another private hanger. This one had the Wayne Enterprises Logo on it. The plane powered down as the handlers came in and put the baggage into another waiting limo. Clark watched as Bruce's face changed back into...Bruce's face, the Batman wasn't gone but he was no longer on the surface. Clark could now see in Bruce's eyes that the Batman was always there. Bruce was the mask not the Batman.

The limo took them out of the private hanger and they left the airport heading towards the freeway.

"Wayne Manor is located on the other side of the city." Alfred told Clark. "We'll be there, traffic willing, in 30 minutes."

Clark saw Bruce pull his cell phone from his pocket. He watched as Bruce pushed a hidden button and the phone split in half, revealing a hidden screen and keyboard. Bruce punched in a password and the phone began displaying different camera views of the hanger they just left. When Bruce was satisfied that the hanger was empty and that there was no one nearby, he hit a few more keys and the plane opened up and the Batmobile blasted out of the hanger.

Glancing at the driver, Clark spoke quietly, "Autopilot? Only have one car huh?"

Bruce smirked and closed the phone.

Clark looked out the window. The sky was dark but yet there were no stars. It had a reddish tent to it, not a dark blue or black that you would associate with a night sky. _I guess it never really gets dark here and yet it feels really dark. Must be why he likes this city._ He saw the Batmobile fly by. _Man that car is fast._

Twenty minutes later they are finally out of the city and the road began to curve through the countryside. It was darker here, Clark could see a few stars out of the limo's windows, but nothing like the stars he could see at home.

He saw huge gates opening in front of them. The gates looked like they belonged on a palace or the Whitehouse. And then he saw the house, it was massive, could be mistaken for a palace, the gates did it justice.

The car slowed and stopped at in front of the huge front door. Alfred and the driver pulled the luggage from the car. Clark got out and looked around and then decided he should follow Bruce into the house.

The house was amazing to say the least. It was decorated in what Clark would call classic mansion décor. Rugs on the wooden floors, suits of armor in the hall, priceless pictures hung on the walls and the rooms, the rooms were beyond huge. Clark smirked as he thought, _this place makes Lex's home look like a shack. _

"Alfred will show you to you room, dinner will be at seven." Bruce said to him before he disappeared into what looked like his study.

Alfred showed Clark up the stairs and down the hall to a room that was prepared for him. A thought struck him. Bruce knew he was coming; the room was setup before Bruce had even come to Smallville and he had sent the limo to the farm before Clark told him he was coming. Clark wasn't sure if he should be impressed or angry as he unpacked and put away his stuff.

Before he could follow his thoughts any further, Alfred appeared and announced it was time for dinner. Leaving his questions he went downstairs and joined Bruce at the table. It was a huge oak table in front of the biggest fireplace Clark had ever seen. Dinner was simple and yet still very elegant. Steaks that were done medium well, fresh salad, fresh rolls with butter and for desert chocolate cake. Clark loved his mom's cooking but Alfred's cooking was to die for.

"He is the best cook." Bruce said as if reading his mind.

"I've never had a roll melt in my mouth like that." Clark said stuffing another in is mouth.

Bruce switched gears, dawning what Clark was beginning to call the 'Batface', "Tomorrow we will start your training. We will test your powers and push them to their limits. I will teach you how to fight without your powers. I have seen that you can control your powers but I will teach you how to control them still further. I will teach you to pick up clues at a crime scene that the police miss. I will teach you to find clues when there are none. I will show you how to escape traps and also to set them."

Bruce stood from the table, "Tonight you will rest up. You are welcome to watch movies in the theater although I suggest you don't stay up too late. Tomorrow will be a long day."

* * *

A/N: I like how they depicted Wayne Manor in the Animated series and in Batman Beyond, so that's what I'm using for reference. 


	5. Training Day

Becs1: Glad you're enjoying it, I have always loved the stories with Clark and Bruce. I think they are a very interesting pair. I've been getting excited about these next few chapters. Keep reading and let me know what you think.

A/N: Since Smallville is set in present time, I figure that Bruce was born in the late 70's to put him in his late 20's, putting him in his 2nd or 3rd year of crime fighting. I didn't want him too much older than Clark and I want Batman in his prime.

* * *

Clark awoke early, the time he normally got up to do chores. Realizing that he probably wouldn't go back to sleep he got up and started wondering the house. As he made his way down the long, grand stairs to the main floor he was greeted by Alfred. 

"Good morning, Mr. Kent." Clark had already tried to get Alfred to call him by his first name. Alfred had refused saying it was improper for him to do so.

"Morning Alfred, what's for breakfast?"

"A big bowl of oatmeal to keep your energy up today. If I understand Master Bruce, today will be quite the workout."

"Sounds greaat. Is he up yet?"

"No, young sir. With his late night activities he tends to not be up and about till noon."

Clark followed Alfred into the kitchen and sat down in the breakfast nook. Alfred had already set the table; there was a steaming pot of oatmeal, any topping he could want, juice, milk and a huge pot of coffee.

"Alfred do you ever sleep? You always seem to be working."

"Mr. Kent, a good gentleman's gentleman must always be on duty and be prepared for anything." Alfred replied as he dried some plates.

"How long have you worked for Bruce?"

"I was hired by his father back in '65 and after the Wayne's horrendous murder, it has been my honor to serve Master Bruce. And to be the Batman's aid in his never ending war on crime." Alfred stated with pride.

Clark finished his oatmeal in silence, remembering what Bruce had told them at the farm. _His parents were shot because of some jewelry._

"Mr. Kent, if you are done with your oatmeal, might I suggest that you explore the grounds? It will still be a while till Master Bruce is up and around."

Clark got up from the table and headed out the kitchen door. He walked through a beautifully kept garden towards the small pond. Walking around the pond he saw that there were various fish swimming around. _Going to have to find a fishing pole. Wonder if he has a Bat-Pole._ Clark chuckled at his joke as he continued walking towards the back of the property. The trees that surrounded the pond cleared as he approached the back of the property and he could hear the ocean. As he approached the edge of the cliff he saw the waves crashing on the rocks below. He had seen the ocean a few times, once with his parents on a vacation and the other while trying to catch a really fast thief. Lois had almost seen him that time, sprinting away as fast as he could go…_I wonder what she is doing. Probably getting into trouble. Hopefully she's ok…_

"Nice view huh?" Bruce commented.

Clark jumped. _HOW DOES HE DO THAT?_

"Yeah, the ocean view is awesome." Clark said and then with a grin he commented,

"OK, you got to show me that sneaking up on people thing."

Bruce just smiled. It wasn't the playboy or the business Bruce and it wasn't the Batman smirk. It was the real Bruce smiling…. and then it was gone.

"Maybe. It's time to begin."

Bruce turns and heads for the house. Clark realizes that he has been told to follow, in a totally non-verbal way.

Bruce leads him to the study that he had disappeared into the previous night. He walks right up the grandfather clock and moves the hands of the clock to 10:43 and then pulls the pendulum down. The whole clock swings away from the wall, revealing a long stone stairway. Clark follows Bruce down the steps; they look like they are cut right out of the rock. Clark counts about 60 steps before reaching the bottom next to Bruce. Bruce flips a series of switches and the cave comes to life.

Clark looks around, there is a full gym with an attached sparing area, a massive computer cluster with many screens, a small laboratory, a medical area, and in the center of the cave was the Batmobile. Up above them on a landing pad was a jet that was shaped like a bat, below them was a river that was fed by the ocean and attached to a small dock was a very powerful looking boat.

"Welcome to my world Kent."

Bruce opened a big fireproof door next to the stairs they had come down and inside were many different types of Batman costumes. Some were very thin, made for summer. Some were very thick and could probably stop bullets. On a table near by were several utility belts and several gadgets that appeared to be works in progress. Bruce grabbed some workout clothes off a shelf and then nodded for Clark to do the same. This time he wasn't as surprised that they were his size. Batman had obviously done his homework.

They moved out into the gym area and Bruce let him know what was going to happen.

"We'll do a light warm-up and then we'll work on sparing without your powers. I want to see what you know so far and then I'll show you something new. I want you to be able to fight when you have no powers. This will aid you when you do have powers in fighting other villains that have powers. It will give you an edge."

Clark just nodded and copied Bruce's warm-up routine. They started with some various stretches and then did 50 pushups, 40 pull-ups and 65 crunches. This wasn't a big deal to Clark as he does not easily tire, but if this was a light warm up he wondered what a heave one was.

They moved out onto the huge mats and Bruce began to instruct him in the different fighting stances. Bruce was patent but demanded perfection. Clark picked it up quickly and gained a batman smirk of approval. The morning quickly passed and Clark had landed on ass more times that he could count. He couldn't believe how fast Bruce could move.

"Good" Bruce stated and Clark realized that they were done for now. They headed for the showers and a nice lunch Alfred had waiting for them.

Cleaned and well fed Clark spent the rest of the afternoon being taught how to use the Batcomputer. Bruce had an amazing setup. The computer was a vast warehouse of information. When not in use he learned that the computer was setup to watch the internet and police computers for specific information and to categorize and flag that information for Batman's viewing. Bruce showed him how to setup the complex searches and had Clark write a specific one to search for himself. There were many references to him in the papers in Smallville, thankfully his super-human stunts were chalked up to the meteor rocks and dumb luck.

"This is one of the tools I use to monitor my secret identity. If someone starts to guess, I have a heads up and I can rectify the situation. So far no one's guess has come close." Bruce said as he viewed Clarks search results.

"Dinner is served." Alfred called. He had setup dinner on a table next to the computer area. From the looks of it, Bruce ate down here a lot. As they ate Bruce filled Clark in on tomorrow's events

"Tomorrow is Monday and we will be heading to the office around ten. I created a position where you will be doing research just for me. You have an office a few floors down from mine and should be left to yourself to do what I need done. You will do some research for the company and some for Batman. Tomorrow night we will continue in your training."

With that Bruce walked to the costume vault and proceeded to put on his costume. And soon afterwards was blasting out of the cave in the Batwing.


	6. Day at the Office

A/N: Thanks for the feedback all, the interest in this story has made it really fun to write.

I'm basing some of Batman's cases loosely on the comic books The Long Halloween and Dark Victory by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale. If you haven't read them, they both are really good stories. (and from what I hear they helped Christian Bale with his portrayal of Batman in the upcoming movie)

* * *

Monday morning came too soon for Clark, after Bruce had left the cave, he had continued to work on the Batcomputer. Alfred had stayed near by and was impressed with how much Clark had picked up in one day. Clark had written searches on Kryptonite, Krypton, Smallville and just about anything else that interested him.

Alfred had just knocked on his door to let him know that breakfast would be ready in 20 minutes. He got up and made his way to the shower. He was as strong as steel but after being thrown on his ass a million times yesterday he hoped the shower would loosen his muscles up.

When he had returned from the shower, he found that Alfred had laid out a nice suit for him to wear to the office. Smiling and shaking his head he put on the pin stripe suit with the tan shirt and blue tie. _If the guys could see me now, no more plaid jokes!_ He thought as he made his way down to breakfast.

"I trust the suit fits comfortably?"

"The suit's great Alfred. How did you ever guess my dimensions?"

"I am a mind reader, young sir." Alfred said in his dry British humor, "Of course I called your mother and got them from her. She said that you are to call her today or else."

Clark laughed and sat down to join Bruce at the table. He was sipping his coffee and reading the morning paper. A flat panel on the wall showed the current stock market prices and had a commentator talking about some new wonder drug that should boost the stock price of a company.

"I saw your searches on the computer Clark. Good start."

"Master Bruce you have a 10:30 meeting with Mr. Fox. We should be going if we are going to get Mr. Kent settled in at the office.

The drive to the office in the Mercedes was fairly quick. The rush hour traffic was long over. They pulled into the underground parking garage under the Wayne building and into Bruce's reserved spot. Alfred opened the door as the two got out and the trio made their way to the private elevator that would take them to the executive floor. Bruce handed Clark a keycard.

"This card will get you to the floor, your office is one floor below mine, and into my office. It will also take you to the roof where I store some costumes and other gear." Bruce told him as he swiped the card and pushed the 30th floor button.

The doors opened to an impressive suite. There were big doors on either side of the hallway and then at the end was a huge window that looked out into the city. They went to the end of the hall and turned right into Bruce's outer office. Clark was introduced to Maya, Bruce's Assistant. She was an attractive woman in her early thirties, long black hair and smooth light chocolate skin. She wore a dress that was conservative but still managed to look very cute.

Maya followed them into Bruce's interoffice and put a stack of folders on his desk as well as a pile of phone messages. She then updated Bruce on his schedule pointing out some changes since he was last in the office. Alfred poured Bruce and Clark a cup of coffee as Maya closed the door and returned to her desk.

"Clark here is your first research assignment." Bruce handed him a fairly thick folder.

"We are researching a company called GothChem for a possible buy out. We need to know everything we can about them. And this is where your training from last night comes in. Your desktop and my desktop here are linked to the computer in the cave, giving us a lot more access to information that might otherwise be secret. I want you to begin with regular Internet search and phone calls the company reps and then move to the Batcomputer link and see what you can dig up."

"GothChem, they were the company being talked about on the stock news. They are the ones with some new wonder drug."

Bruce gave Clark his impressed smirk. "Yes, and I have a hunch that it's too good to be true. Any questions email me or give me a call. I need to prepare for my meeting so I'm going to have Maya show you to your office."

As if on cue Maya knocked and the came in.

"Ready Mr. Kent?"

Clark nodded and followed Maya back to the elevator. They went down a floor and the doors opened to another floor that was similar to the one they had just left except that it had smaller offices and more of them. They walked about halfway down the hall towards another huge window overlooking the city and then Clark saw his name on the door on his left.

"Here you go Mr. Kent. If you have any questions or problems you can talk to Debbi, she has her desk just around the corner next to the copier." Clark thanked her and then sat down at his desk. He booted the computer up and checked his new email account. There were a few already in there. One was a welcome note from HR with a link to all the company policies. Another gave instructions on how to setup his voice mail. And the last was a note on the upcoming company party, with more details to come.

Clark ignored the rest of his emails and began to read through the file on GothChem. It would have been fairly boring stuff if it wasn't for Bruce's notes. He began to see how to read between the lines, to see how Batman saw the clues that were not there.

He ran the regular searches on the internet not finding much more than was in the file. He called the rep over at GothChem, they were very pleased to hear from Wayne Enterprises and quickly took his information down to send him a free informational packet on their new product.

Clark then logged into the Batcomputer and began to program the complex searches. As the data came back with more dead ends he saw that Bruce's hunch was right. GothChem was a front for something, now he just had to figure out what.

Bruce came down around lunch to see how Clark was doing.

"Clark, John Newman, CEO of GothChem, just called to invite me to the Ritz Gotham for a lunch meeting. Seems like he wants to kiss my ass some more. Since you have been doing the research why don't you come along and see what you can glean from the conversation."

"Bruce, from what I see GothChem is a company on paper only." Bruce looked pleased.

"You are catching on fast. Have you finished with the Batcomputer searches?"

"I just started them before you came in. They should be finished after Lunch." Clark said as he locked the computer.

"Good work. Lets go get a free lunch." Bruce said walking out of Clarks office towards the elevator.

The lunch was fairly boring to Clark, he didn't learn anything new about GothCorp but he did enjoy the pasta at the Ritz. The rest of the afternoon flew by as he looked over the searches from the computer and prepared his report for Bruce. _Probably not much here that he doesn't already know, _Clark thought to himself. He emailed the file and made his way up to Bruce's office.

"Hey Bruce." Clark said entering the office.

"Clark good timing. Ready to head out?" Bruce said gathering his things into his briefcase and started walking towards the door.

"Yep." Clark responded following him to the elevator doors. It had gotten dark outside and Clark noticed the Batsignal in the sky through the big windows.

"Bruce looks like it's a little early to head back."

Bruce turned and saw the light in the sky. 'Batmode' switching on.

"Follow me."

They entered the elevator and Bruce slid his access card and then pushed the floor numbers 10, 4 and 3. A small panel opened and he pressed the lighted button inside. The elevator took off towards the roof and when the doors opened they stepped into a small room.

"This is one of the many places in the city where I store extra equipment." Bruce told him as he headed towards a rack that held his costume. He handed Clark a pair of black cargo pants and a long sleeve black shirt and a pair of leather gloves.

"Change into those." Clark did what he was told with a big smile on his face. He was going out with Batman tonight.

"You are coming with me, but you will only be my backup. My rules, my way." Batman said as he pushed a button to call Alfred. "Alfred, I'll be home late. Kent is with me."

"Yes sir, I saw the signal."

Batman flipped a switch on the wall and the outside cameras on the roof showed him it was clear. He handed Clark a ski mask to cover his head and face. As Clark put it on he heard the sound of a jet engine approaching. When Batman opened the door of the little room they were in he saw the Batwing hovering just above the roof. Clark followed Batman and jumped up on the wing and then climbed into the back seat in the cockpit.

Batman guided the Batwing through the downtown maze of buildings with the ease of walking. They arrived at police headquarters in less than 3 minutes. The Batwing hovered next to the building as Batman jumped out. Clark followed him at a distance.

"Jim." Batman greeted Jim Gordon.

Gordon jumped a little. _Its fun to watch him do it to someone else._ Clark thought to himself. Gordon shrugged off his surprise.

"We just received word that the Roman is moving. One of our informants notified us that he is going to be hitting the Maroni family tonight."

"Where?"

"The Santi, their family restaurant. I have my men alerted but I wanted you to go in first. We need to nail this guy." Noticing Clark for the first time. "Who's your friend?"

"Introductions later, we need to move." Batman said climbing back into the Batwing.


	7. What can you do?

The Batwing glided over the city as they headed towards the restaurant. Batman slowed the plane as they neared their destination and hovered next to a building across from the restaurant. He and Clark got out and found a place where they could watch the building below, the Batwing settled on a rooftop a few blocks away. Clark switched on his x-ray vision and saw the skeletons of several men in the building below.

"I count 8 men in the building Batman."

Batman was visibly shocked. In the plane they had covered where he had come from and the stories about Jor-El but they didn't get a chance to talk about his powers.

Clark quietly explained, "X-Ray vision is what we call it at home. I can see through walls, I get a X-Ray type of picture."

Before Batman could question Clark further. They both saw a black limo racing down the street.

"Stay here. Watch my back." Batman said as he leapt from the building.

Batman's cape opened and he used it like a parachute, landing on the front of the limo. He allowed his cape to cover the windshield, causing the car to swerve wildly. One of the passengers in the back fired off a few shots but with the car's wild movement he was unable to hit Batman. The diver unable to shake Batman and the fact that he couldn't see, slammed on his breaks and the car came to a screeching halt. Batman tumbled off the front of the car, landing on his feet. The passengers piled out and started firing at Batman. Batman ducked and threw a Batarang and a couple of smoke bombs. As the area started to fill with smoke the gangsters in the restaurant hearing the gunfire began to shoot at Batman and the limo.

Clark had seen enough and could no longer wait. He jumped off the building, landing in the smoke. He ran into the restaurant and began to disarm the gangsters. He grabbed one of the guns, squeezing the gun into scrap metal as he threw the gun's owner against the wall instantly knocking him unconscious. Another man cam after him with a knife; Clark dodged like Bruce had taught him and took the man's feet out from under him. A third started throwing punches at Clark. Clark grinned and gave him a light right hook sending the man flying into the back of the room.. By this time Batman had already subdued the criminals in the limo and joined Clark in finishing off the fight. Once Batman was satisfied that the men were down he handed Clark several long zip-ties and they tied up the two gangs.

The police started to arrive on the scene, Batman having decided that there was nothing more to be gained by staying, pressed a button on his belt and the Batwing swung low and stopped in a hover next to them. They both climbed in and took to the sky.

"Good job." Batman told Clark as he keyed a switch. "Alfred we're on our way."

"Very good sir, dinner will be waiting on your arrival."

They flew low over the ocean near the estate and Clark saw the rock wall split open about 100 feet above the water. Batman skillfully guided them inside the cave, coming to a rest on the landing pad. _Ok, I'm going to have to learn to fly this thing, man it looks like fun._

Clark thought. The duo hopped out and walked over to the waiting meal. Clark began to tell Alfred about their night's adventure.

"It is fortunate, young sir, that you are bullet proof, as your clothes are not." Clark looked down at his shirt; there were several bullet holes in it. He looked up at Alfred with a sheepish look.

"It's ok young sir, I'm actually very surprised with how well Master Bruce kept his costume together tonight. Why do you think he has more than one?" Clark laughed as Bruce smirked a little.

Bruce finished his meal and finally spoke, "Lets see what you can do Clark."

They walked down the stairs to where the Batboat was tied and walked along the waterway towards the water exit of the Batcave. They came to an area that looked like a junkyard.

"This is where I keep the old equipment and stuff that is not totally destroyed during my fights. I can't just throw it away, so it ends up here." There was an old Batmobile that looked like it would never run again. Several old Computer main frames were sitting towards the back. There was some equipment that looked like they were prototypes that had gone bad. "This is what I want you to do, start stacking and compressing this junk until you get to a weight that is no longer very easy for you to lift."

Clark grinned and took the old Batmobile over to a corner and set it down, he picked up a few more items and stacked them on top. He continued this process until his stack was fairly tall. He then began to squeeze and compact the items. He picked them up but they were still not hard to move. He picked up several more items and compressed them together, this time he used his heat vision to heat up and slightly melt the metal as he squeezed it. He finally compressed it into a long brick like object. He picked it up, grunting a little. Bruce quickly guessed that it was probably nearing 80 tons of junk.

"Good, now you have a weight to work out with. Before work and after work I want you to come down here and start lifting this weight. As it gets easier, add more junk to it until it becomes as difficult as it is now."

"So you have some sort of heat vision too huh?" Bruce asked.

"Yeah, funny story about that too..." Clark told him the story of when he set the school and barn on fire.

"…But I've learned how to control it."

Bruce smiled at the story and walked over to a tall metal box.

"Let's see how well you control your heat vision. Cut the top off this box."

Clark focused his eyes on the box and his eyes turned red as he sliced off the top of the box.

"Now, try burning the paint off the whole box without melting the box."

Clark focused his eyes again, this time not concentrating so hard and focusing on the whole box. At first he started to melt the box but he quickly adjusted and he slowly burned the paint off the box leaving the lower half un-melted.

"Good." Bruce said pulling a device from his utility belt. "This is an industrial thermometer. Try using your vision to keep the display showing a constant temperature. It will take some abuse but be careful like you did with the paint."

Clark once again focused and watched as the LCD showed the temperature rise. He brought the temp up to one-hundred degrees and then kept it constant. The concentration was starting to wear on him, as beads of sweat started to form on his head. But he kept the display reading one-hundred for a full five minutes.

"You can use this exercise to build your heat vision stamina." Bruce smirked, "Now for the fun part, melt the box down to slag." Clark grinned, every guy liked to destroy stuff. He mentally turned his heat vision to 'High' and the box quickly melted like ice on a hot stove. Alfred joined them in time to see the box melt.

"My Word! Uh…Master Bruce, the police have the gangsters downtown and have questioned them, unfortunately no one is talking."

" Clark, I'm going to go talk to Gordon and ask the men a few questions." Alfred nodded at Bruce, "While I'm gone, Alfred wants to talk to you."

Bruce put his mask back in place and headed for the Batmobile. Clark followed Alfred up the stairs and into the costume vault.

"If you are going to be working with Master Bruce, you are going to need to create an identity for yourself. Bruce chose the darkness, Batman was designed to scare the criminals he was dealing with. To make them hesitate for a minute and give Bruce an edge over them." Alfred began to put away a few loose items.

"You on the other hand might want to choose power; you have raw power that no normal human has, or has ever seen. You want criminals to hesitate when they see you because of that power; because they have no chance against you. Having a dual identity is not an easy thing, but it does give you time to just be yourself and not the hero. It will give you a semi-normal life."

Clark looked through the costumes that Bruce had created. _A semi-normal life_, that's what he has wanted for the past few years sense his powers had started to develop.

Alfred handed him a notebook.

"While you are waiting for Master Bruce to get back, I would suggest that you start thinking of names for yourself and costume ideas." Clark took the paper and smiled.

He walked over to one of the chairs by the Batcomputer and sat down. _What to call myself... _

He began to just write down whatever names came to his head. _Wonder guy, nope. Speed Boy, no way, they would think I'm on drugs or something. Mr. Incredible, nah... Masked Avenger, no that sounds corny. Corn...Corn... Corn Man, yeah from _ _Kansas_ Clark laughed; this was going to be harder than he thought.


	8. Detective work

The next morning Clark was back down in the cave lifting his new weight. He was still pondering what he could name his new identity. Alfred had told him about how the bat flew at Bruce when he was a child, scaring him and also giving him the perfect identity. _Maybe a animal will wonder down here and give me an identity_. He had just started his fourth set of fifty reps when Alfred came down to tell him he should shower and come to breakfast. 

He finished his workout and went back upstairs. He found that again, Alfred had laid out another suit. _Man I could get used to this._

At the office Bruce had several new research projects for Clark to start on; Maya had left the folders on his desk. They were far less interesting than GothChem. Clark did his best to work on them but his thoughts kept drifting back to the previous nights events.

_Why was there a hit on the Maroni's last night? Why had the time and place leaked to the police_? He took a long drink of his coffee.

_Maybe so that they could have Batman watching there while they do something else._

Clark logged into the Batcomputer and hacked into GothChem's bank account. There had been a lot of transactions during the day but only one really stood out. It was the second to last for the day, a payment of fifty thousand dollars to J.J.'s Trucking Co. _That sounds a little high for a delivery payment._ Clark hacked into the trucking company's database. He found that once a month they sent a truck to GothChem from their branch location in Miami. _What would GothChem be receiving from Miami?_

Knowing that Bruce was in meetings most of the day. He quickly typed out an email with what he found to Bruce and sent it through the Batcomputer. And tried his best to return to his other work while he waited for Bruce to respond.

Bruce didn't get back to him until later when they were driving home.

"Nice job with the detective work. I was asking myself the same questions last night and I think that tonight we'll take a peak inside GothChem." Bruce told him.

They made their way down to the cave and began to change into their clothing for the night. Alfred came down as Clark was picking up his ski mask.

"Master Kent, I took the liberty of creating a belt for you and I have put a few of Batman's tools in it." Alfred said handing him a yellow belt similar to the one Batman wore except it was thinner and the pockets were smaller and built inside the belt. There was a pouch for smoke balls, sleeping gas balls, some long zip ties, and there were spaces in the back to clip in two grappling guns.

Clark buckled the belt over his black pants and tried the pouches. He found that if he pressed the pouch from the top with his thump the item would drop into his palm.

"Thanks Alfred, this is great." Clark said as replacing the items he had taken from the belt. He also took three of the grappling guns from the wall, hooking two of them on the belt, and walked out of the vault towards the practice area of the cave. He began to shoot the third grapple at the ceiling of the cave. It took him several tries before he managed to hit where he was aiming. After tugging lightly on the line, he was satisfied that it was anchored and he hit the button to reel him up. After allowing Clark to experiment with the grapple, Batman motioned for Clark to follow him to the Batmobile. Alfred met them next to the car and handed Clark one of Bruce's capes.

Bruce smiled as he said, "Capes are very cool."

* * *

Batman parked the Batmobile in an alley behind GothChem, the duo shot their grapples and swung up to the roof. Clark followed him into one of the roof access doors. He was amazed at how quickly Batman picked the lock and disabled the alarm. They crept downstairs until they could hear voices coming from the small office area in the corner of the plant. Batman nodded for Clark to tell him what he saw. 

"There are nine men, it looks like two of them are packing records and five of them are taking the boxes out to a truck."

Batman thought for a moment. "They are going to torch the place. Your thoughts on how the Roman must think the place is too hot to keep is proving to be correct." Batman motioned for Clark to follow him

They snuck into the office and Batman peaked around the corner to where the men were working.

"No time to be subtle, they are almost done."

He palmed a few smoke balls and threw them into the middle where the men were working.

Clark followed his lead throwing a few of his own smoke balls towards the door to help block the escape. The men drew their guns and fired, rushing Batman and Clark. Batman was caught off guard and Clark dove to push him out of the way.

"Boss I see two Bats! Lets get out of here!" On of the thugs yelled as they continued to fire in the duo's direction. The thugs disappeared into the plant trying to make their escape.

Batman and Clark quickly ran after the escaping gangsters. Clark caught the first one, taking him to the ground. Clark took out his zip ties and quickly tied the man's hands and feet. Seeing that Clark could handle clearing the ground floor, Batman shot his grapple to follow the two men that had gone upstairs.

Batman found the first man hiding behind some machinery, the man didn't even try to shoot Batman. He just screamed as the Dark Knight approached him and he left a yellow puddle on the ground as Batman grabbed the man and zip tied his hands. He dragged the thug towards the railing and then tied the man's feet to a post of the railing.

He then began to track down the last thug. He found him in a control room high above the ground. The thug opened fire on him, Batman threw a Batarang at the thug. The Batarang embedded itself in the gun instantly rendering the gun useless. The man ran out a side door of the room and onto a long walkway overlooking huge vats of chemicals. Batman threw a bola at the man's feet and the bola wrapped around his feet and the man fell on his face.

Batman picked the man up off his face and spun the man around to face him. The man pulled a knife and plunged it deep into Batman's right shoulder. Batman in shock from the man knifing him, let go of the gangster who fell backwards into the railing of the walkway. The railing broke and the man fell headfirst into one of the vats below.

Clark saw the whole thing in slow motion below. He was finishing with the last thug down below when he heard the man scream as he fell to his death. Clark super-speeded to the vat and climbed up the ladder on the side of the vat, he used his X-Ray vision to locate the man but he simply wasn't there. Clark noticed the label on the side of the vat that it was some sort of Acid. There is no way the acid ate the gangster that fast. Batman was walking towards him as he climbed down from the vat; his right arm was covered in blood, his left hand applying pressure to the wound.

"Clark there was nothing you could have done; you had your hands full. You could not have saved him; I could not have saved him." Batman said sadly, trying to reassure himself as much as Clark. Clark took his cape off and tied it around Batman's arm. He and Batman made their way back to the Batmobile. Batman told Clark to get in the driver's seat as he got in the other side. He then called Gordon.

"Jim"

"Hello"

"There is a truck over at GothChem that you need to pick up and there are nine…no eight men that need to be picked up. One fell in a vat of acid; we can't find any trace of him."

"We are on our way."

They waited until the cops began to arrive and then Batman told Clark how to start the car and walked him through how to drive it. Clark couldn't help his huge smile as he slowly guided it out of the alley and they made their way back on to the street. The car handled like a dream to even the slightest touch from Clark. Batman called Alfred and told him to be ready with the medical equipment.

Clark got on the freeway that would take them out of the city.

"Clark we are being followed."

Clark looked at the monitor showing a view behind the car and he saw 3 men start to fire on the Batmobile.

"Let's lead them away from innocent people." Batman using his good hand plotted Clark a course using the GPS system. Clark pushed the throttle and swerved to get off the freeway. The car behind them swerved to follow, almost hitting a minivan.

Clark kept them out of range of the guns but did not loose the following car. They zipped out in and out of traffic, doing their best to stear the chase away from pedestrians. As they approached the outskirts of the city and Batman told him to stop the car. Clark flipped the steering wheel and drove the car into an expert 180 degree slide. Clark jumped out and super-speeded towards the oncoming car. He grabbed the frame of the oncoming car, stopping it cold and he gave it a few light shakes. Looking through the windshield he could see that the men were out cold. He proceeded to tie up the men as Batman put in another call to the commissioner.

The police arrived a little later as the Batmobile sped away. The commissioner walked over to the vehicle as it was being put on to a tow truck. It looked like the car had gone through the wash. The whole frame was bent like it was cardboard. He scratched his head, not knowing quite what to think of it.

* * *

Hope you guys liked the chapter, I had a great time writing it. I thought since I will never get to drive the Batmobile, Clark should get a chance. :) 


	9. Visitor

A/N: Since this is an AU story, I've decided that Superman's suit should be adjusted. I'm going to keep it similar but the blue will be much darker (think NightWing). The cape will be black on the outside with red on the inside and will wrap around him like Batman's does (like Robins, except red instead of yellow). The logo will look the same, the red matching the inside of the cape and the yellow matching the yellow belt that Alfred gave Clark earlier. His boots and gloves will be black and no red underwear.

* * *

The next few weeks were relatively quiet; The Roman was lying low, keeping a very low profile. Batman took Clark out with him on patrol showing him how he tried to cover the city every night. Clark had now mastered using the grapple and was almost able to keep up with Batman while swinging over the city. He lost his fear of heights a long time ago. He now loved the rush of jumping off a building and free falling for several seconds before firing off a jump line and swinging away into the night. It was like a drug that rushed through his system. 

He had finally called his mom and told her how things were going. After she reprimanded him for not calling sooner she listened to the new adventures he had been having and how his job at Wayne Enterprises was going. She updated him on the events that had gone on during his absence.

Clark had continued to work on his names for his new identity, not coming up with anything he really liked. Alfred had helped him out with some suit designs. They had come up with a dark blue suit, black boots and black gloves. Clark loved his borrowed cape from Batman so they made him one that was similar. The cape had a straight edge at the bottom unlike Batman's and the inside of the cape was a royal red color. His yellow utility belt that Alfred had made looked great with the costume.

They had found out one night that Clark couldn't wear a mask. He had tried to use his heat vision to melt the tires of an escaping car and his mask caught on fire. Clark was obviously ok but the criminals that they were trying to capture were so dumbstruck that Clark's head was burning and he was ok, it was relatively easy to round them up.

So Bruce worked with Clark to change how his normal identity. They started by giving Clark a pair of glasses. Clark had really started to bulk up with Bruce's rigorous workout program; Bruce showed him how to appear to the casual eye to be smaller than he was.

But he still needed an identity and a symbol.

* * *

Saturday morning rolled around and Clark was glad to be sleeping in, even heroes need their sleep, powers or no powers. He finally decided to get up around noon and wondered down to the kitchen to find something to eat. Alfred normally used Saturday to shop and restock the manor, so Clark was on his own for breakfast. He started to pull out some pop tarts when he heard the doorbell ring. 

Knowing that Bruce was not going to get up to answer it he went to open the front door.

"Hey Clark"

"L…L…Lois?" Clark was shocked to see her. She looked good in her dark green halter top, jeans and sandals. "What are you doing here?"

"Nice outfit, Smallville." Clark looked down at his shorts and wife beater.

"I just got up."

"Are you going to invite me in or am I going to invite myself?"

"Um, sure, come in." Clark allowed her in and guided her toward the kitchen.

"Wow this place is huge! And I thought Lex's place was big."

"That's the same thought I had when I first arrived. So, um, what are you doing here?" Clark asked again as he poured her a glass of water.

"Well aren't you forgetful, I told you that I would be visiting my sister here. And since she's at work today I thought I would come see the famous Wayne Manor. Oh…and to see you too."

"Good to know where I rank." Clark finally waking up enough to tease back.

"So am I going to get the tour or do I have to explore the place myself?"

Clark got up and began to show her around. He had spent most of his time either in the Cave or at work so he was a little excited to check the house out. They started with the library, both taking a little while to check out the books. Bruce had quite the collection, and would rival a small public library with the number of books he owned. They walked into the main dining room and Lois gawked at the huge table.

"You could seat like, a hundred people in here."

"Yeah something like that, can you imagine having to pass the salt?"

Lois laughed, "Yeah your food would be cold before the salt got to you."

They found the small theater that sat 20 or so people, both of them commented that they were going to have to try it out later. They continued their tour and found a huge indoor pool. One side had a hot tub nestled into some rocks with seating for 10. The hot tub was connected to the main pool 2 feet below it by a pair of stairs that circled a waterfall flowing from the hot tub. There was a real beach on one side of the pool complete with a volley ball net and beach chairs. On the far side was a deep end with a diving board and in the middle of the shallow end was a fully stocked swim up bar.

"Have lots of keggers over here Smallville?" Lois teased

"Oh yeah, every night me and Bruce party it up. The women know where to come to have a good time!" He shot back.

"Do you actually talk to the women at these parties or do you just sit in the corner?"

Lois was walking close to the edge of the pool and Clark hadn't thought of a good comeback, so he gave her a slight push. She tumbled into the pool.

"CLARK! I'm going to KILL you!"

Clark laughed as she swam to the edge.

"Help me out of here!" She commanded, taking his hand when he offered it, she pulled him in. The water was actually really nice…_maybe slightly on the cool side,_ he thought as he caught sight of Lois.

She splashed him with water several times as she said, "You are so dead Smallville."

Clark moved towards her as she splashed him and grabbed her and quickly dunked her under the water. She came up and grabbed him and tried to dunk him, he decided that it was only fair so he made her work for it and allowed her to dunk him. He swam under the water and grabbed her leg pulling her under. She let out a yelp as she went under. Clark surfaced and pulled her to the surface.

"So did you win?" Clark asked. She was very close, _she has the most beautiful eyes,_ he thought. _I wonder what she is thinking._

She leaned in very close, Clark's heart started to beat very fast. She grabbed his shoulder as if to reach up and kiss him…and she smacked him in the head.

"Now I have." She said triumphantly.

"What's going on here?" Bruce asked as he and Alfred walked up, "Lois, good to see you."

"Hello Bruce."

"Clark what's going on?"

"I was giving Lois a tour when she accidentally slipped into the pool." Clark told him.

"Slipped, my ass, you shoved me!" Lois said smacking him in the head again.

Clark grinned and Bruce smirked a little when he realized what was going on between the two.

The two got out of the pool and Alfred gave them some huge beach towels.

Alfred marched them out of the pool room and upstairs, all the while telling them not to drip on the floor. Lois ducked into the bathroom after Clark handed her a shirt and sweat pants. Clark quickly changed his clothes and could hear the hairdryer running in the bathroom as he went back downstairs. He went into the kitchen and started to look for something to eat.

Lois joined him a few minutes later as he found two Dr. Peppers and a bowl of popcorn.

"Young Sir, what are you two doing in my kitchen? Outside with you two!" Alfred shooed them out the back door; out of his domain. "Master Clark, please remember to be dressed and ready on time for tonight's event."

"What event Smallville?"

Clark and Lois sat down at the patio table, "We have a Wayne Charity ball tonight. I've been trying to get out of going but Bruce said that everyone is going to want to meet me. So I have to go."

"Wow moving up in the world, going to be a big man some day. Don't worry; to me you'll always be the plaid wearing man from Smallville."

"Thanks Lois for your…uh…heartfelt support." Clark looked down at his hands and then choked up the courage for his next question.

"Uh…Lois, if you aren't busy tonight…I mean…um…It be nice to have date for the party…Bruce has one…we could go together…"

"Clark, are you asking me out?"

"Umm, well, yeah I guess."

Lois pondered for a moment, watchingClark as he squirmed in his seat and then broke into a big smile.

"I'd love to Clark."


	10. The Perfect Night

"Clark I didn't bring anything to wear to the party though. I brought some clubbing outfits but nothing to wear to a ball." Lois told him.

"Not a problem, we'll go pick something up." Clark got up and Lois followed him back through the kitchen

"Alfred, Lois is coming with us tonight," Clark's cheeks reddened a little; "we are going to go pick her up a dress."

"Very good Master Clark, Ms. Lang's things should be dry by now as I'm sure she doesn't want to go out in sweats." Alfred knowingly responded.

Lois headed up to the bathroom to change and Clark went to the garage and pulled his favorite car around to the front, a 2005 Dodge Viper convertible. He was putting the top down when Lois came out front dressed again in her halter and jeans.

"WOW, nice car!" Lois said as she got into the passenger seat.

"Yeah Bruce really likes cars and has quite the collection. He told me I could use whichever one I wanted. I've tried the Mercedes and Lamborghini and a few others. But this one is my favorite so far."

Clark put the rumbling V-10 engine into gear and drove them down the long driveway. Clark picked up speed as he pulled through the massive gates and made his way towards the freeway. He kept glancing at Lois who had fixed her hair back with a clip and had put on some sun glasses. She was clearly enjoying the warm breeze that the convertible provided. They made their way to downtown Gotham and Clark pulled up in front of an expensive looking boutique with tuxes and gowns in the window.

"Clark I can't afford this place." Lois started to say.

"It's ok Lois." Clark told her opening her door as the valet came to take the car.

They were met at the door by the store manager, "Mr. Kent, its good to see you again. Alfred called and told me that you needed a dress for tonight."

"Thank you Jane, good to see you too."

Jane walked them back to the back of the store to a large private dressing room. There was another small room to change in, sofas and a coffee table with waters and several large mirrors around a short pedestal. Jane pulled a tape measure out and began to take Lois' measurements. Clark sat down on one of the couches and grabbed a water bottle, watching and listing to the two girls talk about colors, fabrics and styles. Lois went in to the small dressing room and changed into the first of the dresses. It was a nice white gown that Clark thought looked pretty good, but the girls found several flaws in how it looked on Lois. Lois returned to the dressing room and emerged in a light blue dress, again the girls found something wrong with it and she returned to the dressing room.

Jane found a third dress and Lois came out in a long red gown that was held up by thin spaghetti straps. The front dipped down showing ample cleavage while still being somewhat modest. The back was low and had the straps crossing nicely across her back.

Clark's eyes almost popped out, she looked gorgeous.

"Well Smallville, it looks like you have never seen a girl in a dress."

"Umm… Lois you look amazing! You look really good in red!" Clark finally got out.

Lois blushed slightly, "Thanks Clark."

Jane picked up a few more boxes and brought them over

"Ms. Lane, here are some shoes and here are a few necklaces' that might go with the gown" The girls went through the same procedure with the shoes and jewelry as they had done with the dress. Finally deciding on what looked best, Lois and Jane turned to Clark and smiled his approval and then spoke to Jane.

"Jane is my tux ready?"

"Yes Mr. Kent." Pulling the tux from the rack and handing him a box of shoes.

Clark stood and walked to the dressing room and changed into the tux. It was nice shopping here, they took care of you. Like having the socks picked out to go with the shoes and a small bottle of cologne in his jacket pocket. Finishing dressing and giving himself a couple squirts of cologne, he emerged from the dressing room.

"Looking good Kent." Lois said coming over

"Does it meet your satisfaction Mr. Kent?" Jane asked.

"It's great Jane. Just as you promised." Clark said offering his arm to Lois as they moved to the front of the store.

"I will put it on your tab Mr. Kent. Thanks for coming in today, it was a pleasure serving both of you." Jane said as she shook his hand, handing him a bag with their street clothes.

The valet brought the car around and they made their way further downtown.

"Smallville this is amazing, thank you so much for the dress." Lois sad

Clark smiled back at her, "Your welcome Lois, although I can't take all the credit. Bruce had told me that if I found a date for the ball he wouldn't mind paying for her dress." Clark told her.

Clark pulled up to a beauty salon and told the valet to hold his car as he was coming back out. After introducing her to the ladies inside and telling them to give Lois whatever she wanted he turned to Lois, "You're on your own here; this is no place for a guy. I've got an errand to run for Bruce, I'll be back later."

Lois was quickly surrounded by the ladies all wanting to do her hair for the ball. Clark just laughed and shook his head and made his way back to the Viper. He took off down the road and reaching for his phone as it rang.

"Clark, how's the shopping?" Bruce asked

"Going good Bruce, Lois picked out a knock dress." Clark said turning down Broadway.

"Probably the most expensive one in the store…"

Clark laughed, "Bruce was that a joke?" Clark teased. "I'm on my way to restock the supply room at the office while Lois gets her hair done."

"Good. I'm on my way to pick my date up. We'll meet you in the garage and then pick up Lois."

Clark took the box up to the secret room at the top of the Wayne building. He restocked the smoke balls and grappling guns before making his way back down to the garage. He pulled a few things from the Viper and He climbed in the waiting limo.

Bruce introduced his date, "Clark I would like you to meet my date, Selena Kyle. Selena, this is Clark Kent."

Selena looked stunning in a black strapless dress. With her dark hair pulled up into some type of twist.

"Nice to meet you Selena."

"Clark, good to finally meet you; Bruce was just telling me that you were really enjoying your job at Wayne Enterprises."

"Yeah I am finding I like research and the projects that Bruce comes up with are very challenging."

Alfred pulled up to the salon and Clark jumped out and went in to get Lois. The girl doing her hair was just putting the finishing touches on Lois' hair as he walked up.

"Lois your hair looks great." Clark told her, admiring the little curly strands that fell from the tight twist on her head.

Lois gave him a teasing curtsy, "Thank you Mr. Kent." Clark laughed as they made their way back to the limo.

Bruce introduced Selena to Lois and the two ladies found a seat together and began to get acquainted. Bruce and Clark found another seat and quietly began to talk.

"We are going to need a few more Batarangs up in the store room."

"I'll let Alfred know."

"Any word on the Roman?"

"No, but I think we are in the quiet before the storm. I have a feeling that things are going to heat up again soon. He has to start moving again, he'll have to find another truck to get his goods in and out of Gotham."

Before the guys could continue their conversation, Alfred pulled over and announced that they had arrived at the restaurant. It was a small Italian place tastefully decorated with a nice view of downtown Gotham.

"Mr. Wayne your table is over here." The manager met them and showed them to the table.

The dinner was wonderful; Selena and Lois had begun to really hit it off, their conversation during the meal ranged from clothes to food to best shopping places. Bruce and Clark added a few of their own teasing comments to the discussion but were mostly quiet through the meal. It was after 8 when the couples got up to make their way to the Ball. Alfred drove them to the Gotham Ritz a few blocks away. As they got out of the car, the reporters started taking pictures and throwing questions at Bruce and even a few at Clark.

They walked up the red carpet ignoring the questions and made their way to the roof of the hotel. The doors opened to a beautiful garden area, the area was lighted with lots of little white lights. They were instantly surrounded by several people eager to shake Bruce's hands. Clark was introduced and became very thankful for his great memory; there were a lot of new names and faces to remember. He and Lois excused themselves and found the drink table.

"Wow Smallville, you are Mr. Popular tonight." She said after another couple introduced themselves to Clark.

"Yeah, all these people seem to know who I am, I know I haven't seen half of these people before."

"Well you are living with Bruce Wayne. That's big news. Kissing your ass is a good way to kiss Bruce's."

Lois caught sight of a few more couples moving towards them.

"Smallville, lets dance."

Catching the direction of her glance, he grabbed her hand. "My hero!"

And led her to the dance floor. They began to dance, after getting over the initial hesitation, stepping on each others feet and the all the reporter's cameras flashing they began to enjoy the slow dance. They moved around the floor and found that Bruce and Selena had joined them.

"I see you have found the secret of avoiding ass kissers." Bruce joked and smiled at the younger couple.

Clark was about to respond when he heard gun fire coming from the elevator. He turned and saw that there were thugs dressed like clowns running from the elevator and began to surround Gotham's wealthiest. Clark noticed that Bruce had disappeared and decided to stay with the girls. It was then that Clark heard an evil laugh come from the direction of the elevator. Clark saw a man emerge from the elevator in a purple suit, with a big flower in the jacket lapel. The man face was chalk white with a huge grin on his face, he had bright green hair.

"If you will kindly deposit your valuables in my men's bags, maybe only a few of you will end up like this guy." He grabbed one of the guests and shoved the mans face into his lapel flower, sending a cloud of gas into the guest's face. The guest began to chuckle, then broke into a laugh and he soon was laughing so hard he was curled up into a ball on the ground. All of the sudden the laughter stopped and Clark knew the man was dead.

The Clown started laughing again. "Thank you, thank you. I'm not going to be here all night so empty your valuables now or you can become the Joker's next joke."


	11. The Perfect Night Pt 2

A/N: My Joker is based on the animated series (you can't beat Mark Hammel as the Joker in my opinion.).

* * *

_What is taking Batman so long?_ Clark wondered. The gang began to collect the people's belongings and Clark was trying to figure out what he should do. He looked around and saw a fire escape ladder and began to slowly push Lois and Selina towards the edge of the roof.

"Batman!" One of the ladies yelled. Batman came crashing down on one of the clown dressed thugs rendering him unconscious. The thugs dropped their sacks and began to converge on Batman. He was in top form taking only a few minutes to drop all the thugs.

During the fight Clark, Lois and Selina had started helping guests down the ladder and into a window a few floors down.

"AH Batman! Good Show!" The Joker clapped his hands gleefully and broke into an evil grin as pulled a bag from his pocket. "Looks like you've got a helper tonight" Eyeing Clark helping another woman down the ladder to Lois and Selina. "Hopefully your reflexes have improved since we last met." Joker flung the bag in Clark's direction. The bag landed at Clark's feet and marbles rolled out of the bag in all directions.

_Marbles?_ Clark wondered.

"Everyone move!" Batman yelled as the first grenade went off.

The blast threw Clark over the edge; he reached out and grabbed a rung on the ladder. He pulled himself back up and made his way to Selina and a guest helping them through an open window. More grenades went off and the side of the wall began to collapse and the ladder began to pull away from the building. He slowly started to climb down the steps towards Lois, trying not to put any more stress on the ladder.

Everything shifted to slow motion, the ladder fell away, pieces of rubble began to shower down behind him and he saw Lois loose her grip and began to drop. He dove for her and it took what felt like an eternity to reach her. She must have passed out or have been hit with the falling rubble because she was unconscious when he reached her. Grabbing a hold of her he franticly looked around for a way to stop his fall. He was too far from the building to grab a ledge and he didn't have a grapple. _Always be prepared_, Bruce had said countless times,_ well I didn't think I would have to be tonight. _He looked at the approaching ground, the fall wouldn't hurt him but impact shock would certainly kill Lois. _What I wouldn't give to be able to fly! _He closed his eyes and began to pray.

A minute passed before he realized that they should have hit the ground by now. Opening his eyes he was shocked to see that he was floating several stories above the ground. _What in the world? _He looked around stunned trying to figure out what was holding them up. And then he realized nothing was holding them up, HE was holding them up. His curiosity finally overcame his shock. _I wonder if I could float up._ Clark began to float upwards at a slow rate. _NO WAY! _

Clark shifted Lois in his arms so that he had one hand free. Stretching it out he thought _Go that way._ And he began to fly away from the building. _This is AWESOME! Ok enough screwing around Kent got to get to work._ He flew towards the Wayne Building and flew up to the roof. He sat Lois down on the roof and went to the secret supply room and grabbed a communicator.

"KENT! Are you alright?" Batman demanded

"Yeah Lois and I are alright, we are on top of the office. I pushed Selina through a window a couple floors down from the roof. Do you need help?"

"No I have his gang tied up and no one was seriously hurt, but the Joker is long gone. How did you get on top of the office so fast?"

"That's a good story for later, I'll bring Lois back and I'll find Selina while you change."

Clark picked up Lois and flew back to the hotel and landed clumsily in an alley next to the hotel. _Going to have to learn how to land Kent. _He thought to himself.

Clark carried Lois around the corner to a group of waiting rescue vehicles. Lois began to stir in his arms.

"Lois can you hear me?"

"Clark? What happened? I remember falling and seeing you jump after me and then…nothing."

"I jumped after you" He said and then blushed at his next statement, " But I didn't think of how I would really save you. Thankfully, Batman fired a rope after us and lowered us to the ground."

Lois gave his neck a big hug, "Always saving my ass, you must be running for the Superman of the year award." Clark set her down and the EMS began to check her out

"Well someone's got to save the cute girls. I'll leave the ugly ones to Batman." Clark teased back.

The EMS found that she did get hit with some of the rubble and had a swelling bump on her head. The EMS technician told Clark that he should watch her for the next few hours.

Alfred brought the limo around and Clark helped Lois in, telling her that he was going to go find Selina and Bruce.

He clicked the com link back on.

"Have you found Selina?"

"No."

"I'll start searching from the bottom up." Clark looking around and no one was watching, super speeded into the hotel and began to search floor by floor.

Lois sat in the car with her eyes closed. _What a crazy night. Are crazy people just attracted to me?_ Her thoughts shifted to Clark, _What am I doing with him? Everything has changed so much today…_

Her thoughts were interrupted by a fireman pushing Selina into the car. Lois realized that Selina was gagged and tied up. Alfred's door was opened and he was thrown from the car. The fireman got in and pealed out, giggling down the street.

"Please sit back and enjoy the ride!" The Joker erupted into another fit of laughter almost causing a huge wreck.

Clark made his way back out front to where the Limo should have been. Keying the link to Batman he gave a status report.

"No sign of Selina."

"Not good. I'll…"

Clark interrupted him, "The limo is gone…Alfred!"

Clark made his way over to the elder man on the ground, helping him up. There was a good bump on his head and a little road rash on his face.

"I'm sorry Master Clark, he caught me off guard…he took the girls."

"Who?" Clark asked Alfred.

"The Joker." Batman had joined them.

"Who's the Joker?" Gordon asked joining them.

"He's the boss of the gang you're bringing in, Jim." Batman gave Jim a description of what Joker looked like.

"Don't worry Mr. Kent, We'll find them." Jim turned back to Batman, but the Dark Knight was gone.

"See we are already on it." Jim said with a grim smile as he turned back to the crime scene.

Batman called Clark on the link, "Kent, take Alfred home and make sure he's OK. I'm going after the girls; contact me when you are suited up."

Clark walked Alfred away from the crowds and down a side alley.

"This is going to feel a little weird Alfred." He put his left arm around the older man's waist and floated slowly up.

"MY WORD!" Alfred exclaimed.

Clark raised a fist in the air and began to pick up speed.

"It's all thought, I just decide where I want to go and I go…I'm not sure how it works." Clark told Alfred and then explained what had happened to Lois and him.

Clark flew them high over Gotham, if the circumstances were different Clark would have enjoyed the view. Clark landed them on the doorstep of the manor. Alfred disabled the security systems and the pair made their way down to the cave. Alfred patched himself up as Clark activated the limo's tracking device. The car had stopped at an abandoned toy factory. _It's almost like he wanted us to know where he is._

He contacted Batman with the location of the limo. Batman told him to suit up and join him ASAP; he was going to check it out.

Clark made his way to the costume vault and couldn't find his dark clothes that he had been wearing.

Clark was about to ask Alfred where his clothes were when he saw a new costume hanging up in its own area in the back of the vault. It was the one he and Alfred had been working on but now it was finished and it had a symbol. A big yellow S covered the whole chest area of the uniform.

"Master Clark, your mother sent that over, it arrived after you and Ms. Lane left. I took the liberty."

"Its perfect Alfred, it's the symbol of my birth parents." He quickly pulled on the costume and put the boots and gloves on. Standing up he pulled the cape on and then buckled his belt. He looked at himself in the mirror, he looked very different. He looked intimidating.

"Have you thought of a name for yourself?" Alfred asked.

"Yes, Lois gave it to me…Superman." Clark shot up into the air. His cape blowing around behind him, he flew out the Batwing exit, shooting out over the ocean.


	12. The Perfect Night Pt 3

A/N: Thanks for the reviews all. Your encouragement is making this story a lot of fun to write!

* * *

Superman sped over the city with one arm outstretched in a fist; leaving a sonic boom behind him. He flew through the canyon of buildings and finally slowed to a hover over the toy factory. He saw where Batman had entered the building from the roof and moved in through the open skylight. He snuck in and found Batman looking down at the Joker and the rest of his gang.

The Joker had a huge vat of what looked like acid in the middle of the factory; the two ladies were hung suspended over the vat from a support beam. The Joker was giggling and was telling the girls how perfect his plan was.

Batman felt him approach and spoke without turning, "You get the girls, I've got the clown."

Superman nodded and watched as the Dark Night leapt from their hiding place and landed in the middle of the gang. The Joker reacted almost instantly, hitting a button on the remote in his hand. A small explosive went off that was attached to the beam holding the girls, severing the rope.

Superman jumped from where he was crouched and caught the girls in mid air landing on the ground next to the vat.

"NO FAIR!" The Joker screamed as he saw his hostages getting away. He pulled a huge gun out of nowhere and nailed Superman in the chest. Clark was thrown against the wall.

Superman shook off the shot and raced to cover the girls. Batman threw a Batarang and knocked the gun from the Joker's hand.

"Get them out of here!" He commanded.

Superman picked the girls up and raced out the way they came in. He flew down to the newly constructed police barricade. The cops looked up in awe at the sight of a man flying. Superman quickly untied the girls and left them with the cops. He leapt back into the air and flew back into the building.

Batman had taken down most of the thugs as Superman landed on two of the remaining men. Batman jumped into a roundhouse and took the last man down.

They looked around for signs of the Joker but he had escaped during the fight.

"What happened?" Batman demanded, "You are faster than that, the girls should have been out of danger before the fight even began."

"The Joker's gun threw me off…" Clark began

"You are invulnerable…"

"If I'm not ready for it, a bullet can surprise me and those were big bullets!" Clark shot back.

"Always be prepared. You know that…"

They were cut off by the police who started escorting the thugs to the waiting police vehicles.

"Batman." Jim called.

"The Joker got away."

"That's unfortunate, but looks like we got most of his gang."

Jim turned to Clark, "We haven't been properly introduced, Jim Gordon."

Clark shook his hand, "Superman."

Gordon smiled, "Glad to have you around, anyone that helps us cops out is a friend of mine in this city."

Turning back to Batman, "I know you probably know but the latest word is the Roman's desperate for new transportation. He's throwing money at anything with wheels. Sooner or later someone's going to bite."

Batman nodded, "I've been hearing the same rumors too. I'll let you know if we find anything." Batman pressed a button on his belt and the Batwing came and hovered right outside of the door.

Gordon realizing that the conversation was over walked back outside to Selina and Lois to see how they were doing and to take their statements personally.

"Batman, I'm sorry." Clark said softly as the walked to the Batwing.

"I'm just stressed…you could have done better but the main thing is that neither of the girls got hurt." Clark realized this was as close to an apology and forgiveness as he was going to get.

Batman jumped in the jet and Superman smiled as he realized Batman was waiting for him to get in. "See if you can keep up old man."

Superman shot twenty feet into the air; the cops all looked up again in amazement at the flying man. Batman was visibly shocked as he hadn't seen Clark fly out the roof earlier. But quickly recovered and shut the roof of the Batwing.

"Old man huh…" Batman smiled as he punched the throttle and the Batwing screamed away from the toy factory. "Lets see what you can do kid."

Clark flew off after the Batwing and quickly began to close the distance. Bruce swung the jet around and looped around a few buildings; Clark almost missed the first turn but quickly recovered and again started to close on the Batwing. Bruce jerked the jet into evasive maneuvers, as if daring Clark to touch his jet. Clark catching the new game pushed himself even more and followed the jet in a few maneuvers coming very close to grabbing the wings a few times.

"Master Bruce, shouldn't you be picking up Selina and Lois? I'm sure they don't really want to spend time with the police." Alfred suddenly came on the com link.

"Uh, yes Alfred…we were just on our way to do that." Bruce responded.

"BUSTED!" Clark laughed after Alfred closed the link.

Bruce shot him 'The Look' as the two heroes headed for the Cave.

* * *

Thirty minutes later Bruce and Clark pulled up to the crime scene and found the two ladies had just finished with their reports for the police. Both girls ran up to the men and hugged them tightly.

"Smallville where have you been? I had to be saved by some guy in blue tights!" Lois teased.

"Well we regular heroes have to have our beauty rest." Clark shot back.

"Yeah well you can forget about the superman of the year award."

Bruce guided them back towards the waiting Mercedes and they took the girls back to their homes.

Clark walked Lois to the door of Lucy's apartment.

"Well Kent, it was an interesting first date."

"Yeah, wasn't quite what I had in mind, maybe I can make it up to you?"

"What do you have in mind?"

* * *

Clark picked Lois up around ten and they made their way to the Gotham Marina. Docked there among the other boats was a good sized yacht with the Wayne Enterprises logo on it. They boarded the boat and the captain greeted them and let them they were ready to go. The captain expertly guided the boat out of the marina and into the open water.

"This is quite the surprise Smallville; I thought we were just going to the beach." Lois said taking her shirt off and revealing her bikini top underneath. Clark tried to think of something to say but couldn't.

Lois smiled at the effect she had on him, "Catching a lot of flies there Kent?"

They found some deck chairs at the front of the boat and the steward brought them some ice cold water. Clark pulled off his tee-shirt and this time it was Lois' turn to stare. _I don't remember him looking that good at the farm._

The two drank their water and talked while to boat made its way towards a small island. After dropping the anchor the captain came down to tell them they had arrived.

Clark led Lois down to the back of the boat and there were two jet-skis that the small crew had unloaded into the water. Clark gave her a life jacket and they jumped on the watercrafts. The rest of the morning they zipped all around the island, splashing each other with their wake.

Around one o'clock Clark yelled for her to follow him and they beached the crafts on the small island. Clark had the steward setup a nice picnic for them under the shade of a few trees on the small beach.

There was fruit and sandwiches, water and soda and Alfred had even packed two pieces of his exquisite chocolate cake for desert. The two ate until they could eat no more and they laid out on the towels in the shade.

Lois reached over and Clark flinched thinking she was going to hit him; instead he got a kiss on the cheek. "The second date has been much better Kent."

Clark blushed and then Lois moved closer, "This one is for saving me last night."

She kissed him on the lips. Clark's arms closed around her and pulled her close quickly deepening the kiss. They finally pulled apart several minutes later and Lois rolled onto his arm breathless, _Wow! _


	13. Patrol

A/N: Markmark261. Thanks for the feedback!

I've struggled with the whole Lang and Lane thing, I kept typing the wrong name and having to go back and correct it. Looks like a couple made it through my beta reviews. Thanks for pointing them out. My spell check kept changing Selina to Selena, being the lazy guy I am I didn't think to check to see what the right spelling was. The glasses were enough to keep Lois guessing in the comics and movies, who am I to change that. You are right about the Batmobile, Bruce probably wouldn't have brought it off the plane so quickly.

I started putting this story together before I saw the episode with Lois and Lucy, so in this AU they get along.

* * *

Clark awoke in blinding pain; he could feel the Kryptonite radiation rushing through his system. He looked down at his arms and saw his green colored skin glistening with sweat and wished he could just die now. His fingers were numb and his arms and legs were painfully tingly. His head felt like someone had run over it with a car as turned it slightly to see a blurry figure approaching. He tried to speak but no words would come to his lips.

The person moved towards the top of the bed he was lying on and leaned over him.

All of the sudden the pain ceased and his body began to relax. He blinked his eyes and realized it was Bruce putting the kryptonite away in lead box.

Bruce had been working with him for a several days now trying to see if it was possible for Clark to build immunity to Kryptonite. So far the results have been negative and painful. Clark wasn't sure how much more he could take.

Bruce walked to a control panel and flipped on the newly installed natural sunlight lamps over the medical bed that Clark was lying in. Clark instantly began to feel a little better and moved to sit up on the bed removing the medical monitoring pads stuck to his head and chest.

"Damn Bruce, that hurts like hell." Clark croaked; his mouth was extremely dry. "I don't think this whole immunity thing is going to work."

Bruce turned from the computer, "I had hoped that you would be able to at least crawl away from the Kryptonite but the radiation throws your body into such ciaos you become paralyzed and you black out."

Clark finally got up from the bed and slowly walked to the Batcomputer which displayed the test results on one screen and drawings for Clark's costume.

"Sooner or later someone will accidentally figure out that Kryptonite is your weakness. I had hoped that our tests would show that you could build up a resistance to it but that does not look like it's a possibility. So I made a couple of changes to your costume. "

Bruce walked to a nearby table and brought back a couple of items as Clark took a seat next to the Batcomputer.

"I added a thin layer of lead to your cape, if you wrap it around you and it should give you some protection from the effects of the radiation. And I added a pressurized canister of acid to your belt. Like we saw in yesterday's tests the acid will dissolve the Kryptonite and render it harmless to you."

Clark nodded weakly and slowly made his way upstairs and outside to the deck chairs. The late afternoon sun warmed his cold skin and he could feel his strength returning. He closed his eyes and was about to dose off when his cell phone rang.

"Smallville! Where are you?"

"Uh sorry Lois, I've been sick all day. I was going to call you." Clark said weakly, this time he didn't have to fake the voice.

"Well I guess I'll let you slide this once. You better be on your death bead." Lois teased him

It had been two weeks since their first date and her abduction by the Joker. They had been on several dates since then and tonight Clark had promised to take her to dinner and a movie.

"Lucky for you Kent, Lucy has been complaining that she hasn't seen me much since I got here and she wanted to go do some shopping."

"Tell Lucy she's my hero." Clark teased.

"What's that spost to mean Clarky?" Lois spat back

She continued, "I'll let that comment go today, but remind me to hit you when you are feeling better."

Clark said goodbye and closed his eyes.

* * *

When he woke up the sun had set and he was finally feeling like his old self again. He made his way down to the cave and found Bruce dressed in his costume without his mask on.

"Any leads?" Clark asked as he walked into the costume vault to change.

"Just another smiling corpse found by the docks, obviously from the Joker again. He's taunting us, trying to get under our skin. The Roman on the other hand hasn't moved a muscle. Something's going to happen soon." Bruce said pulling his mask on.

Clark finished putting his suit on and made his way to the Batcomputer. Bruce pulled up a map on the screen and showed Clark what route he was to patrol and pointed out the areas he should watch closely. They checked their com links and then Batman made his way to the Batmobile and blasted out of the cave.

Superman flew out the Batwing exit and circled around towards the east side of the city. It felt good to be in the air again, the afternoon's events had left him a little sore and it felt good to have the wind rushing against his face.

This was his first time to patrol alone, with the Joker on the loose Batman was getting edgy. This compounded with the anticipation of the Roman slipping up had driven Batman to allow Clark to go it alone tonight so the city could be watched as closely as possible.

He found the starting location for his patrol and began to peer into the darkened Gotham streets. It only took a few minutes for him to come across a woman being mugged.

He dove from the sky landing right next to the thug.

"Are you sure you want to do that in this city?" Superman glared at the muuger.

The man pulled a gun and held it to the woman's head, "Just walk away you freak and maybe the woman will live."

Superman grinned and before the man could blink the gun in his hand was getting hot and began to melt. The man yelled and dropped the gun; he threw the woman at Superman and ran away down the alley. Superman checked to make sure the woman was ok and then flew down the alley and dropped in front of the fleeing mugger. He dragged the man back to the street and tied him to a lamp post. Switching com frequencies and he told the police where to find the man and leapt into the air.

The rest of Superman's night was relatively quiet, only a couple of small robberies and a few more muggings. He enjoyed the solitude of flying above the city, looking down at all the speeding cars going by. Until his thoughts were interrupted by Batman's call.

"I have activity at the Roman's main headquarters."

"On my way."

Superman changed directions, looping around a few skyscrapers and headed for the massive building downtown. He found Batman crouched on a building across the street in the shadows. Batman had his surveillance equipment out and was recording and listening to the Romans' conversation. Superman kicked on his super-hearing and overheard the Roman talking to another man.

"…and MY money is just sitting in these warehouses. The rats are just eating it away and there is not a DAMN thing I can do about it!" The Roman was ranting.

"Don't get your boxers in a bunch_ Romey_ old pal, I think that I can help you out. I have a solution for your problem…for a modest fee." The other man almost giggled, _his voice is very familiar _Superman thought.

"Name it."

"I want 30 of whatever I help move."

"Done. Provided you can move it this week Joker."

"Oh don't worry my Roman friend, that won't be a problem." The other man said and began to laugh a menacing laugh.

"This is our first big break." Batman said quietly as he packed his equipment up. "The Roman has a contract with the Joker and we now have it on tape."

"Now if we can just catch the Joker in the act we can take down two birds with one stone." Superman added.

"Correct. Take this disk back to Batcave and make a copy of it. Then take the copy to Gordon or Dent. I'll keep tabs on the Clown."


	14. Trial

A/N: The Catwoman for my story has no tail and no whiskers, I liked how she was drawn in Batman:TAS.

Markmark261: Thanks for catching my mistakes, I'll try to go back and correct the spelling in the previous chapter when I get a few minutes. I don't know where I would be without my spell check.

Enjoy!

* * *

Before Superman could move to follow Batman's orders, several shots rang out and two of the windows of the Roman's penthouse exploded outward. The two heroes sprang into action; Batman fired a grapple and swung towards the building with Superman close behind. Flying through the broken windows the duo began to quickly disarm the men inside. 

Batman took the Joker down while Superman grabbed at two thug's guns. It was then that they saw what had caused the commotion; a girl dressed in a dark purple cat suit ran from the shadows and leapt through the broken windows. Batman secured the Joker and followed her through the window.

"Catwoman, STOP!" Batman commanded.

The girl just laughed and used her whip to swing to a new building's roof.

Batman spread his cape and glided after her.

"Come on Batman! Feeling a little tired tonight?" Catwoman tesased.

She ran across the roof and launched herself to the next roof, Batman was close behind. She fell gracefully through the air and completing a back flip as she landed on top of a tall office building.

Batman threw a bola witch caught around her feet, causing her to collapse to the roof.

Batman pinned her hands down.

"What were you doing in the Roman's penthouse tonight?" He demanded.

"You didn't ask nicely…" She scratched through his glove, causing him to release her arms. She jumped to her feet and jumped off the building.

Batman followed and grabbed her out of the air and fired a grapple pulling them up the side of a building. Catwoman snuggled in his arm.

"Ah, much better. It's been too long, huh Bats." She said kissing him on the cheek.

"You didn't answer my question." Batman said keeping them suspended from the side of the building, trying not to give her an opportunity to escape.

"You need to loosen up; you are too high strung these days. " She leapt from his arms and he tried to follow but couldn't. Looking at his hand he realized that she had zip tied his hand to his grapple. He smiled and pulled a knife from his belt and detached himself from the grapple.

He made his way back to the Roman's penthouse to see how Clark was doing. Gordon and Harvey Dent had just arrived and were helping bring the Roman, Joker and their men down.

"Batman," Dent called, "you'll never guess what happened. The Roman actually shot and killed one of the Joker's men during the gun fight. Between the tape Superman gave us and now this we have the evidence to take him to trial finally."

Batman just nodded and turned to Superman.

"Where's the girl." Superman asked quietly.

"Got away."

Superman was shocked, she didn't look like she was that hard to capture, but realized that he would have to continue this conversation up with Bruce later.

* * *

…_and a second escape was made by the Joker. This just in: We have confirmed reports that crime boss the Roman was arrested late last night with the cooperation of Batman and Superman with local GCPD…_

Clark turned off the TV in Bruce's office just as a blurry picture of him and Batman came on screen.

"Think he'll stay behind bars Bruce?"

"For a few years maybe, Harvey's going to throw the book at him. It will at least give us time to take the rest of the organization down." Bruce said as he signed a few more documents on his desk.

Clark got a soda from the mini fridge.

"So who was this Catwoman last night?" Clark asked.

Bruce didn't respond until Clark came over and stood next to him.

"She's a thief that…I haven't caught." Bruce replied.

Clark caught the hesitation in Bruce's voice.

"Haven't caught or don't want to catch."

Bruce leaned back in his chair and looked up at Clark.

"She and I have…an understanding, as long as she steals in other cities I won't bring her in. She can also give me information that I can't get normally."

"Who is she?"

"I don't know."

Clark was shocked for the second time in 24 hours; the World's Greatest Detective didn't know who this Catwoman was. And it seemed like he didn't care to find out…

* * *

Two average looking men made their way into a packed courtroom. One was bearded and wore dark sunglasses and was lead through the room by a young man who looked like his son. They quietly found their seats in the back of the courtroom and waited for the proceedings to begin. 

The Roman's preliminary trial went fairly quickly, the opening statements were made and the initial pleas were entered in. The court was getting ready to recess for lunch when suddenly the building began to fill with purple smoke.

"HAHHAHAHHA, The life of the party is now here!" The Joker exclaimed, spraying the courtroom with bullets from his machine gun.

_Why would he break the Roman out?_ Clark thought as he jumped from his seat.

Bruce reached under his clothes a bola and quickly took the clown down as Clark melted the front of the gun. The Joker fell to the floor. The Roman grabbed the clown's gas flower from the front of his jacket and sprayed it at Dent. Although this time liquid came out instead of the Joker's gas. Harvey cried out as the acid ate away at his face.

The Roman made a break for it, or rather started to when he dropped to the ground grabbing at his chest. Clark knelt down next to him and felt for a pulse as Bruce ran to Harvey.

"Dead. He must have had a heart attack or something." Clark looked around, "Where's the Joker?" The clown had disappeared.

"Forget them, get Dent to the hospital!" Bruce commanded.

Clark picked up Dent and flew him out the door. They arrived at the hospital several seconds later and the disguised Clark set Dent down on a bed. The doctors and nurses rushed Harvey into surgery to see if they could save his face. Clark ducked into a storage room and a second later emerged in his suit.

Batman arrived with Jim a several minutes later.

"Did they say anything when the admitted him Superman?" Gordon asked.

Clark shook his head.

"Where is Mrs. Dent?" Batman asked

"My wife went to pick her up; they have become somewhat close in the past couple of years." Gordon replied.

Batman nodded to Gordon and hit a button on his belt.

"We'll be back." Batman said has he left the room with Superman close behind.

The Batwing literally exploded off the ground, _OH MAN; he's PISSED_ Clark thought flying next to the jet. Batman's voice came roughly over the link.

"We are going to find that clown and we are going to make sure he makes it to jail. PERSONALY."

Clark began to scan the area, _how hard could it be to find a man in a purple suit in the middle of the day._ It was actually fairly hard, it was noon and people were out everywhere going to have their midday meal.

_The money!_ Clark clicked on the link,"The money Batman, he's after the warehouses full of cash. He made the agreement with the Roman and then after being told the locations he came back to kill him so that he could take the money free and clear."

Batman said nothing but changed directions and headed for the warehouse district of the city. Flying over Superman began to x-ray the buildings until he saw one with several men inside loading up a few trucks. _A few purple trucks, that was too easy._

Batman ejected from the Batwing and glided down to the roof. Superman joined him as he burst though a skylight.

"Ahhh there he is, what took you so long Bats? And the new pretty flyboy…Get them boys." The Joker giggled.

The heroes quickly dispatched the thugs. Batman seemed to channel his anger through his fists; the thugs didn't stand a chance. Most of them went down with one or two punches.

"He's mine Superman." Batman said through his teeth glaring at the Joker.

The Joker came at him with guns blazing, Batman threw a Batarang and the guns clattered to the ground. The clown pulled a sack of marbles and threw them at the Dark Knight's feet; Superman blew them away towards the high stacks of money behind the Joker. The Bombs went off, instantly igniting the money into towering walls of flames.

Batman grabbed the Joker and threw him into a wall. Picking him back up Batman landed a solid blow to his stomach. The Joker doubled over and Batman kicked him in the head the Joker flew several feet and landed on his back. Batman began to punch him in the face.

"Enough." Clark was instantly at his side. Batman continued to hit the clown. Clark grabbed Batman's hand, stopping it from slamming into bloody and broken face of the now unconscious Joker.

"Stop Batman, he's done." Batman looked up at Superman glared at him for a moment and then walked out of the burning warehouse. Superman raced to pull the Joker and his men from the building.


	15. Anger

Thanks to all for your reviews especially Shall-Iin, I agree that I was was rushing things. So after taking a break, I'm back with a new chapter 15 and a new direction for this story. (sorry to those that wanted Robin, I decided not to introduce him...for now)

Let me know what you think!

* * *

**Chapter 15 - Anger**

Superman flew into the cave with a loud whoosh and landed with a thump right behind Bruce who was sitting unmasked in front of the huge Batcomputer.

"What the hell is wrong with you Bruce? You could have killed the Joker tonight!"

Bruce just sat in the large Batcomputer chair with his back turned to his young partner.

"You never loose control, what happened?"

"Harvey was a close friend." Bruce said quietly almost in a monotone, not turning around.

"OH well THAT explains it! Come on Bruce, does that give you the freaking right to beat the shit out of him?" Clark angrily spun the chair around to see Bruce's pained filled face.

"I should have been able to stop him…I should have been able to save Harvey." Bruce said quietly.

Clark's anger drained from him quickly as Bruce stood and walked past, down the stairs towards the little river dock. Clark watched him go, not quite sure what to think of what had just happened. He had never seen Bruce act this way.

He walked into the costume vault and slowly changed into his street clothes. He made his way up to the kitchen and was met by Alfred.

"Master Clark, if I may have a word." Alfred said handing him a Dr. Pepper and a bowl of hot popcorn.

Clark sat down at the kitchen table and began to eat his snack.

"There was a time not too long ago that Master Bruce was ready to tell Mr. Dent his secret, this is no small thing as you know. Very few people are allowed in his small circle of trust; those fortunate few are the ones that he actually allows himself to become somewhat attached to." Alfred moved back to finish washing the dishes.

"But Alfred, he lost control…"

"Yes, that's what scared him even more than Mr. Dent getting hurt."

By nightfall Bruce finally emerged from the cave, walking slowly from the secret entrance of the cave. Clark ran into him as he came down from his room.

"I'm sorry Clark." Alfred who was dusting a table, dropped his dust rag in shock, it was very rare when his employer apologized sincerely to anyone.

"It's ok Bruce, We are all just human…well you are…" Clark smirked.

Bruce actually cracked a small smile, "We should go see Harvey."

The drive to the hospital was passed in relative silence. Bruce, although doing better was keeping to himself and his thoughts. They pulled around the back of the hospital to dodge the media and made their way to the nurse's station.

"Excuse me miss, could you tell me what room Harvey Dent is in?" Bruce asked one of the nurses.

"I'm sorry Mr. Wayne, Mr. Dent…is um…gone." The nurse said.

"What do you mean gone? He just got here several hours ago; it's too soon for him to be going home?" Bruce said as lightly as he could.

"I'm sorry Mr. Wayne, I can't tell you any more than he is not here, because we don't know where he is." The nurse replied in a slightlyflustered tone.

Bruce turned and walked back to where Clark was standing in the waiting room.

"Problem?" Clark asked.

"Harvey is gone." Bruce said through his teeth. "I'm sure Gordon will be calling us soon."

The duo made their way as fast as possible to the downtown office building's secret closet and quickly changed into their suits.

"I'm heading to the south side; Dent had a favorite bar down that way. You head to police headquarters and talk to Jim." Batman said as he dropped off the side of the building to the waiting Batmobile below.

Superman leapt into the air and flew to police headquarters.

"Commissioner." Superman greeted the older man.

"Superman where's Batman?"

"Batman is already looking for Dent, he's heading south. I'll be checking out the north side of the city." Superman said.

"Figures…" Jim muttered to himself as Superman leapt from the roof and few towards the north end of Gotham and hit the com button.

"Heading north."

Batman didn't respond but that wasn't unusual so Superman kept flying.

Superman x-rayed every building he flew by as he made his way north, he flew low over two of Gotham's malls. He stopped a couple muggings and purse snatchers as he looped through one of the parks. When he reached the north end of Gotham he landed on one of the water front buildings and clicked on his radio.

"Find anything B?" Superman called over the link and waited for a response.

"Batman?" Superman called again.

Again no response. Superman pushed down a feeling of panic; Batman wasn't even returning the 'quiet' signal. It was one of the first things that Batman had taught him. If you couldn't talk, then tap the com microphone twice lightly. This would let who ever was listening know you were ok.

Superman detached his belt buckle computer and turned on the coded GPS locator for the Batmobile. It was parked by the waterfront on the south side of Gotham. Superman pushed himself off the side of the building and leaving a small sonic boom in his wake as he rushed to its location. He arrived at the Batmobile a couple of seconds later.

Landing next to the Batmobile, he scanned the surrounding buildings but saw no sign of Batman. He pushed a button on his belt to open the roof. The roof began to slide back when the Batmobile suddenly exploded into a massive fireball throwing him across the street into the water.

Several seconds later Superman broke the surface coughing; he hadn't had a chance to catch a breath before going under water. He caught his breath and jumped into the swooping around to the now burning Batmobile, to his relief Batman was not in the Batmobile. _Where could he be?_

Gordon and his men pulled up as Superman put out the fire.

"He wasn't in there was he?"

"No he wasn't."

"What do you think happened?"

"I'm not sure…if you'll excuse me Jim." Superman leapt into the air.

"Alfred, meet me in the cave. We have a problem."


	16. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

**

* * *

**

Clark searched for days; Gotham had never felt so huge to him. Over the summer he had learned the layout of the city fairly well but now it felt so foreign. He X-Rayed every building and home in Gotham. He searched every utility tunnel and sewer. He leaned on every snitch that Batman used, Batman was just gone, no clues, no witnesses…_no hope?_

Alfred had tried the tracking devices built into Batman's suit but they were not functioning. He called in a few favors from his old friends at MI6 and a few of Batman's contacts that he knew of but it lead to nothing but dead ends.

Clark had found Harvey Dent who was now calling himself Two-Face after capturing him in the middle of killing off the rest of The Roman's family. He had questioned Two-Face about Batman's disappearance and believed him that he had nothing to do with it.

Gordon was pissed off; he had lost the two men he had come to count on. Harvey was the first honest DA in several years and had been instrumental in bringing down The Roman. And Batman was the protector of his city, protected his city against people like…Harvey. He had sent his men out to look for the Bat but he was spread so thin that he could only keep that up for a few nights.

The Batcave seemed darker than ever when Clark flew in.

"Master Clark, may I have a word with you sir?"

Clark fell wearily into the Batcomputer's control chair. "Yeah Alfred."

"I think we have exhausted all of our leads sir. I don't think we can do anything else." Alfred said as he pulled up a chair next to Clark. "I think it's time you opened this." Handing him a large envelope.

Clark looked at the envelope for a few seconds and then took it and opened it. Pulling a letter out he began to read out loud:

_-------------------------------------------_

_To Clark and Alfred:_

_If you are reading this then I am either dead or I have disappeared._

_Clark your training is more than complete. Your powers have made you the most powerful being on the planet and probably in the galaxy. If my calculations are correct, you should continue to grow stronger in the next few years and your body should be fully charged by the sun._

_I would like to ask that you continue my fight that I have started here. Not just for my sake or my parents' but for the people of Gotham. They need someone to protect them. Too long have they lived under corrupt leadership and evil men. _

_To you Clark I leave the Batcave, the house and Wayne Enterprises to use as you see fit. The company should more than supply any financing you need for this war on crime. And the Batcave and house will give you a base of operations. _

_To Alfred, I leave the rest of my estates, businesses and money. You have been a faithful servant and friend and father figure. I would not have been able to do what I have done without your assistance. The only thing I ask of you is that you help Clark get established without me. Guide him as you did me. And then go buy yourself an island and retire old friend._

_Enclosed in this envelope is my updated will that includes Clark. All the passcodes for the house, cave and anything else Batman related. And authorization of the transfer of the companies into your names._

_Good luck my friends._

_Bruce_

_-------------------------------------------_

The cave was silent aside from the bats and equipment.

"He's really gone…" Clark said with tears in his eyes.

Alfred had turned away and had a hand to the bridge of his nose. He could see the powerful struggle that Alfred was going through to keep his emotions under control.

Turning back to Clark he spoke quietly. "Yes. Lets get some sleep and then tomorrow we'll figure out a course of action."

Alfred quickly made his way up the stairs and disappeared into the house.

Clark got up from the chair and walked around the cave. He made his way through the training area, the lab and then walked through the trophy area. Most of them had been collected before he came to Gotham this summer, except for the huge penny. He and Batman had stopped a robbery at one of the museums that was showcasing large art. The penny had been given to them after they had returned the items a gang had stolen.

He walked to the costume vault and took off his costume. He slowly looked around at all the gear for the Batman, all the wonderful devices that Bruce had created to make himself into the ultimate weapon. He shed another tear as he turned off the lights and walked upstairs.

FIN

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A/N: I've finished my first Fanfiction! Don't worry all, more is coming! I just felt I had come to the end of Clark's superhero begining story and now I need to move into a sequel. Besides how much can you cram into one summer…? 

I hope you all enjoyed the story as much as I enjoyed writing it. Thanks for all the feedback, I think the next one will be even better because of your help.


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